Dog Pound (2010)

In various aspects, Dog Pound fulfills with its purpose: bringing us a raw and intense look to a "juvenile detention center", supposedly dedicated to the juvenile delinquent's rehabilitation, when it is in fact a sadistic and brutal environment which stimulates the cruelty, the intolerance and the violence as the solution to every problem. I have to say that Dog Pound kept me interested; however, its story is almost non-existent, and it's reduced to a series of vignettes which follows the experience of three young interns of a recent entry.

The main problem from Dog Pound is that it doesn't provide too much to the "prison cinema". On the positive side, the performances are very good, and I also appreciated the fact that none of the performers are models/actors, something which helps to the realism of the story. The only problem with the cast is that the actors are too old for the characters they interpret. If director Kim Chapiron had selected 15 or 16-year-old actors, Dog Pound would have been more shocking and subversive. Unfortunateley, he let that chance go.

In conclusion, Dog Pound entertained me; it brings an interesting message; the performances are solid; and Chapiron's direction is agile and efficient, with the emphasis on the clarity and free of stylish distractions. However, it didn't leave me completely satisfied, mainly because it doesn't bring anything new to the "prison cinema". I consider it worthy of a moderate recommendation by itself, but there are much better "prison films" out there, such as Bad Boys (1983), Celda 211 and Un Prophéte.

Fmovies: This movie hit home for me because I was once locked up in a juvenile detention facility. The only thing I disagree with in this movie is the guards were not violent enough but the setting is the same if not worse on how you get treated by the people around you. For all the people who said this was a "Bad movie" "had no plot" you have never lived it so you would not have the first clue what this movie was attempting to convey with its ending and storyline. The psychology is nearly the same and it does not matter how you go in, your environment changes and with it you must change yourself. You may have heard the term "debt dog" but I doubt it. This movie hits as close as your going to probably get without someones story like mine.

A movie like "Dog Pound" has a lot of peers. Year after year of prison films (a dozen or two I've seen for myself) have honed a pretty basic cinematic structure. This film is about half-successful in avoiding the clichés. It does have one thing going for it - being the most recent to give a pretty much realistic account of the juvenile detention system. The pace of the story provides somewhat of the needed adrenaline charge for the thriller format, but it doesn't go nearly as far as it should. The soundtrack, for one, is a good example of this. It's virtually never needed, always intrusive. The acting is pretty much as expected. Given intense situations, the actors offer better performances than if asked to emote in a normal environment. And, if not necessarily better, at least more intense.

Kim Chapiron provides some interesting direction. Clean photography, 70s style use of zooms. It doesn't always work, but it keeps things interesting. The end result is a film that gives you enough to stay involved, if not quite enough to push it over into something you'd want to see again. Good enough.

Dog Pound fmovies. Although i did not yet see "Scum" - but will see as soon as i can - i think it's perfectly acceptable a remake (still not sure that it's a remake) after several decades.

The thematic of life in a prison or juvenile delinquency is not new. What's new is the extraordinary realism with which this film is made of. Extraordinary violence is processed between the actors and the audience. Awesome performances in all the situations. The less likable aspect about this movie is the sudden and somehow incoherent death of two youths.

But the soul of the project is always there.

Dog Pound had a huge effect on me unlike most films that have come out in the past couple months. You start to really feel for the characters and their issues also everything during the movie goes along smoothly. Every actor worked their role correctly and, in my opinion, perfectly. If people just truly gave a couple seconds to be down to earth with these juniors, just for once put yourself in their own positions, many of the problems in this film could of had a much better outcome. Great story, great action, and just overall a good watch. This is a must see for everyone who has the stomach and the mind set. These actions are actually happening today and needs to be solved.. but sadly I may not see it in my years.

Dog Pound is directed by Kim Chapiron who also co-writes the screenplay with Jeremie Delon. It stars Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Mateo Morales, Taylor Poulin, Dewshane Williams, Lawrence Bayne and Trent McMullen.

Young offenders Butch (Butcher), Angel (Morales) & Davis (Kippel) are sent to the Enola Vale correctional facility and find that bullying, drugs and abuse are the order of the day.

To clear things up, since there seems to be a lot of confusion on internet forums, Dog Pound is to all intents and purposes a remake of Alan Clarke's seminal British Borstal shocker, Scum (1977/79). It's the same plotting, much of the same characters are recycled and all of the big scenes from Scum are recreated as well. Only difference is is that Chapiron has shifted the story to North America, to a fictional correctional facility in Montana. It's basically done what the Farrelly Brothers did with Fever Pitch. What should be noted is that Chapiron hasn't hid from this fact, he didn't make the movie thinking nobody would notice, he actively acknowledged his worship of Clarke's film, making Dog Pound very much the ultimate American homage. Claims of it being a rip-off etc are way off the mark, it's a remake and nobody has denied this.

Much like the original British version, Dog Pound is brutal, upsetting and has a loud booming voice. The director follows Clarke's template by keeping it grimy and raw, and by shooting it in semi-documentary style and using rookie actors and real life ex-offenders in the cast, Chapiron has gone, and gotten, gritty realism. He's also added a couple of his own neat touches to the narrative. The pressure the guards are under is scrutinised, how it affects home life, and there's a deft line about AIDS in the story, how people react to sufferers of the disease. The recreation of a young offenders facility is well researched, with laid bare dormitories and depressing corridors, while the cast, particularly a terrific coiled spring Butcher, can't be faulted for excellent serving up of the material to hand.

Minor problems do exist, familiarity of genre is always an issue, and here for anyone who has seen either of the Scum movies, there is no surprise factor, it does feel a little old hat. This even though Chapiron appears to be making the comment that problems inside juvenile facilities haven't ceased since the 70s. The Angel character is badly under written in the context of him being one of the central characters, a big misstep since he forms a crucial plot development, whilst the use of music is also a very bad idea. These irritants stop the film from being up with the best of the genre, but it's still a potent firecracker of a picture. Very well made and still it has something to say, in that the cycle of violence continues inside, that juvenile institutions are still questionable tools for rehab, problems are there and Dog Pound ferociously makes its point. 7.5/10