Dog Soldiers
This lean, efficient horror flick stands well above most bloated  blockbusters.Dog Soldiersfollows a military squad on a training  mission in the Scottish wilds, where they run into a pack of werewolves.  There's nothing fancy about the plot--the soldiers hole up in a farmhouse  and desperately try to fend off the werewolves until dawn--but the script  is full of smart dialogue and clever ideas, the direction is dynamic, and  the performances (from Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee, Emma Cleasby, and Liam  Cunningham, among a solid cast of relative unknowns) are strong and  committed throughout.Dog Soldierspays homage toNight of the  Living Dead,Aliens, andThe Evil Dead, among other  films, but the references are woven into the fabric of the movie. An  unpretentious, tension-inducing flick like this is a pleasant reminder  that even crude special effects can be more evocative than expensive  computer flashiness.--Bret Fetzer