Customer Reviews

Man's Best Friend [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This movie has long been one of my guilty pleasures, a true B-Movie where the Frankenstein creation of a genetically mutated dog is adorable, pitiful, and horrifying.

Quick Summary: A news reporter (Ally Sheedy) breaks into a lab to do a story on how the company is experimenting on animals. While she is there she kidnaps "MAX" a Tibetan Mastiff who is apparently the culmination of the scientist's work (Scientist played by Lance Hendrickson). MAX instantly worms his way into her heart with his human intelligence and precious furry face. Unfortunately MAX is also very possessive, and overly protective of his new human love interest, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend.

Honestly this movie is not good, it's straight B-Movie fair, but man is it fun on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The things this dog can do are so way over the top you would think the movie was written by a 12 year old. But, the humor in the way they are executed will amuse most B-Movie fans. The cat and mailman scenes are hysterical to me. And you couldn't have picked a cuter more lovable dog (who is by the way, the best actor in the film). If you are looking for art, look elsewhere. If you are looking for substance, look elsewhere. If you are looking to add to you B-Movie collection then add this to your cart and have a fun time.

A reporter is trying to get a hot scoop at an animal research facility called E-Max. The one who was going let her in is called by a highly intelligent named Max but he is shot with a tranquilizer and subdued. The reporter breaks into the place and releases the million dollar dog. She is mugged and the dog kills the mugger. I thought he was subdued? Anyways, if your a pet lover then this movie is not for you. The only real graphic scene involved the dog swallowing a cat whole and it implies he rapes the dog next door. The dog's face is even burned towards the end. The movie looks like a typical 90's horror movie with bad acting and not alot of gore. The story makes little sense including the fact the the dog was shot with a tranquilizer and he will turn into a killing machine when it wears off even though he's killed 3 people already. Anyways, some might enjoy it but i'd skip on this bad dog.

Man's best friend was about a dog named Max who was genetically crossed in a experimental lab with chameleons, jaguars, and other things. The scientist basically took a dog, mapped out his flaws, and then got rid of them by putting genes of other animals in there. He was trying to make a super watchdog but this dog was also a little too powerful for his own good.

The movie opened up with a scene with a scientist getting killed as soon as it started which is always a good thing getting right into it. The story was good, the scientist who made him chases Max down while the police chase him down a few times. Max is loose and finds refuge with a reporter named Lori who was trying to blow the lab right open and shut it down. She gets his seemingly harmless dog and takes him with her. The dog has a surprise in store for them though. He's super powerful, can turn invisible, climb up walls and trees, run extremely fast, and withstand alot of punishment.

The kills in the movie are justified as its mainly people trying to kill him, so it isnt just some psycho dog that needs to be shot to death because he kills random people. Its just like any other big dog, if you try to attack them or kill them they'll kill you. So its justified to me.

The acting is not bad at all, it has a few lil dead points I guess but I cant name any out of the top of my head. It blends the idea of a normal housedog but with killer tendencies. There are alot of scenes worth noting like the cat, the "Puppy Love" scene, and way too many to name.

The ending is absolutely epic, you will be in such suspense that it can rank up with any other horror film probably more. Most horror movies i've seen (and i've seen all the jason, michael, freddy, and ripoffs along with every other film under the sun) you always just sit there and are like how are they going to kill him? Not really epic or suspensful you just want to know how he is going to die. Not with this movie.

The dog has duality also which is a definite plus. He has his sweet loving side if you treat him good and dont provoke him. And he has his killer side if you attack or try to hurt him. It isnt like most movies where you just see a hack and slash (even though that is good).

The dog is a genius he is smart as a human so dont think "oh god a dog killer movie thats so stupid... Who would watch that?" NO! This dog is smarter then any human you will ever see. He is a hunter, tracks you down, opens doors, cuts on and off lights, flushs toilets, and can analyze things. He knows over 350 spoken commands in English and Spanish according to the scientist.

I wont give away the ending. I'll just say its extremely sad and even a tough guy would cry if he loves dogs. It has a cliffhanger though, so that definitely gives you a sense of wanting to see a second movie of this.

Overall, its a great movie. Its full of action, some comedy, suspense, and is both funny, scary, and charming. This movie is one of the best i've seen in a long time. I am not a kid, i'm 20 years old and have seen this movie many times. I can watch this movie over and over and never get bored. Unless I watch it around 100 times but still. It's an amazing movie. Buy it now!!

When i was chilling on the couch down the shore real late at night, this movie came on and I decided to watch it cause i LOVE watching stupid horror movies late at night. But this movie really suprised me! It wasn't stupid at all! It has the entertainment value of any other good movie you will see! The dog was freaky looking with his eye all burned out and everything, and you actually feel sorry for the dog at the climax. Buy the movie!!! :)

"Man's Best Friend" tells the somewhat intense story of a reporter who finds out that the dog she stole is more than just a good guardian, but an unstable killer. Let's face it: this might as well have been titled "Beethoven 3: Revenge." The story has some good elements going for it: it certainly has a lot to say about what happens when humans tamper with nature. But those few good things are buried in a heap of unbelievable events and details, and so the movie flops.

The story begins with nosy reporter Lori Tanner, played by Ally Sheedy, sneaking into a top security experiment laboratory to uncover allegations against the company for cruelty to animals. This is the first in a string of unbelievable sequences: if the facility is as important and top secret as the movie portrays it, where are all the guards? Nonetheless, she breaks in and gets the scoop, not to mention a large dog named Max who seems friendly until the project leader, Dr. Jarret, shows up to scare Lori away.

Max escapes and hitches a ride home with her, and once there, he takes a liking to her and a strong disdain for her boyfriend, Perry, who wants him out of the house, Meanwhile, Dr. Jarret reports the dog theft to the police, leading to the inevitable foreshadowing of doom as he tells the detectives about Max's genetic altering that will lead him to unspeakable acts of violence. And wouldn't you know it? He starts going nuts: completely digesting a whole cat, murdering a mailman and burying him like he was a chicken bone.

The movie has fun with the normal dog cliches: the mailman and cat are one of them, as well as his instinct to protect Lori from Perry. As I've seen in reality, some dogs have a real problem with their owner's significant other, and the movie takes this and makes it funny in some places, while terrifying in others. Perry is a wimp to begin with, so that makes it even funnier.

The story itself is not all that bad, either. It has all the normal clichés you would expect to find in a routine thriller: the pair of detectives who can't seem to get a grasp on the situation, which leads to a hilarious send-up of cop-criminal chases in which they chase the dog by automobile. The unsuspecting damsel who thinks she's doing something good, but ends up being the real bad guy. Sheedy does well in the role of Lori, playing her as naive and relentless in her pursuit of the facts. Then there's the know-it-all scientist, Dr. Jarret, who supplies the story by foreshadowing gruesome events. Lance Henriksen plays the part well: forcing us to believe in his words by making them sound serious.

Still, there is a downside, and this has to do mainly with the dog's abilities because of his genetic altering. The movie allows him to become camouflage in order to deceive his pursuant. Unless Webster rolled over in his grave, the world "camouflage" means to keep the same form while disguising yourself to look like something else, like a lizard changing color to match a leaf. Here, Max is able to take on the form of a heap of sports equipment, not just the color. A bit unbelievable, if you ask me, and so is his ability to urinate acid. And what about those claws, which enable him to climb to the top of trees?

You can enjoy "Man's Best Friend" if you don't take it too seriously. The story doesn't attempt to be too convincing, so really, all we're left with is to sit back and enjoy the ride, which does have some good thrills along the way.

A nice Thursday evening spent with the third member of Sid army inspired yet another 90's B horror review from the North pole's ultimate B enthusiast. It's been a few non-review weeks due to a surplus in orders thanks to this whole Christmas in July non-sense. Obviously we all know Christmas only comes once a year baby! Yet we've been hard at work filling Santa's orders, but have found a little down time again now that July's coming to a close. What better way to celebrate then with a 90's B horror starring Ally Sheedy and Lance Hendrickson? It's an extremely odd pairing but comes together nicely like red hots and knock off M&M's from sizzler eaten out of your sweat short pockets. The film is truly the type of B we look for in every sense. In so many ways it was so awful which is what makes it so perfect. We all know the old adage "it's so bad it's good." This is a motto we've centered our lives around.

Man's best friend starts out with news reported Ally Sheedy who sneaks into a animal testing lab to expose the cruel experiments. During her search she comes across a giant, very friendly pooch named Max. As she's telling Max "c'mon baby you know your the girl of my dreams" Lance Hendrickson burst in full of rage like he's hunting down Pumpkinhead. Since Andrew Clark wasn't there to wrestle Lance so freaking bad, they had no choice but to high tail it out of their with the dog close by. What Ally doesn't know is this dog's a scientific freakshow compiled with genes from every animal on the planet. He can run as fast as a cheetah, blend into things like a chameleon, has the strength of a bear, and can climb trees like a ring tail lemur. This is a dog you don't want to F with. Obviously the dog goes mental and eats a cat, kills a mail man then burries him under the deck, clips Ally's boyfriends breaks...then later kills him, and kills the scientist. However you really pull for the dog the whole time, poor bast**d never saw it coming.

So to sum it up, Man's Best friend is some top choice grade A meat in the 90's B horror field. Sure it was laughable and never even close to scary but that's what a true good B consists of. The film had so many parts that made you feel as if you were watching a kids movie, especially when they played a B cover of puppy love while Max tried to score with the neighbors dog. It would then switch gears from playful to straight up insane in the blink of an eye. Completely all over the place in the best way possible. For the movie snobs this film will simply not be in your comfort zone. It's not scary and not enjoyable unless you can kick back and enjoys it's Bness. But honestly, if you're expecting to be scared by this movie you've already got a nice stocking full of issues.

A reporter stuck doing filler stories wants to break into real news. She gets a tip about animal abuse from an insider at a local corporation. She sneaks in and finds outrageous animal testing going on. One animal is a large dog that she decides to take with her. The viewer knows that this is no ordinary dog but the reporter does not see it.

Max, the dog, is actually a genetic blend of several animals thus giving it abilities beyond that of normal dogs. Max is also very intelligent. Max seems to take a real liking to the reporter and follows her direction while also following his darker purposes. The corporation's head, a scientist, is trying to get Max back as he believes Max will degenerate into a fearsome killing machine.

Whether Max is good, bad, or just very good at survival should be left for the viewer to discover. Ally Sheedy as the reporter and Lance Henricksen as the corporate head both give good performances. the plot develops very nicely and never seems to bog down in the middle the way so many do. A good horror/monster/nature-goes-wild flick.

My dogs were actually used in the making of this film. They are a rare breed of dog known as the Tibetan Mastiff. After months and months of filming, I was actually pleasantly surprised at the entertainment value this film provides.

Lori Tanner (Ally Sheedy) a mediocre reporter dreams of big-time. She gets her big break as she sneaks into a laboratory that is accused of having animal cruelty. She unwittingly releases poor pitiful Max, a lab experiment hound, in her pursuit for justice and a great story.

Max returns the favor by protecting her from a mugger. They soon bond and Lori is oblivious to Max's potential for good or evil.

The fun part of the movie is that we get to see Max's potential for good or evil. The situation makes us cheer for Max and overlook his few foibles. We also suspect and look forward to our local authorities (Robert Costanzo, and John Cassini) becoming dog chow.

It was a nice touch having the comic relief of dog catchers in this presentation.

It's not the best film or the worst or the best story or the worst but it is worth watching.

a great classic movie that shows a relationship of a unique dog and his masterlots of action all through out the movie