Neil Marshall made a name for himself, justifiably, with 2005’s The Descent, but prior to crafting that film’s claustrophobic horror, he’d given us Dog Soldiers. Here we find good writing, acting, and Marshall’s characteristically excellent execution of practical effects.

I love how Dog Soldiers doesn’t pick on soft targets. Many horror films inflict their monsters on hapless and unprepared victims. A Nightmare on Elm Street hacks away at teens. The Shining subjects an innocent family to its machinations. The Birds overwhelms a Dick and Jane duo with sheer numbers. Horror typically posits a lopsided confrontation, where the stakes heavily favor the evil force(s) present. Dog Soldiers upends this and places in harm’s way a troop of hardened, trained and fully armed British infantry. It doesn’t rush into doing this, either, taking its time to establish the men’s credibility and likability. It’s only then that things take a sharp turn for the worse. Favorable comparisons with Predator abound.

It all begins with an opening sequence in which Private Cooper, played by Kevin McKidd (you might remember him as Lucius Vorenus from HBO’s excellent Rome series) is running through a training exercise that will determine his eligibility to join an elite spec ops unit led by Captain Ryan (Liam Cunningham). Ryan’s final demand–that Cooper shoot one of the guard dogs–is a little ridiculous and smacks of foreshadowing, but these two excellent actors carry us past this minor issue, and in Cooper’s case he’s busted back to a regular army post, and the plot moves forward.

As might be predicted, Cooper’s new squad, led by Sean Pertwee playing Sergeant Harry G. Wells, is composed of much more sympathetic, blue collar guys. There’s a terrific sequence following the day’s deep woods training where Sergeant Wells tells the others a story about action in the Middle East. It’s riveting, and works almost as well as the legendary scene in Jaws where Quint recounts his last days on the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Then comes the surprise. None of this feels derivative at all, despite the similarities. Marshall’s confidence shines in this and the rest of the film.

That’s good, too, because the dramatic ramp-up of danger and action that follows wouldn’t work if Marshall weren’t firmly in the driver’s seat. The squad finds themselves investigating the campsite of another unit, where something violent clearly occurred, and then shortly after that they’re attacked by a pack of Werewolves.

I have to pause and note that of all the styles of werewolf horror cinema serves up, this is my favorite. I like my werewolves eight feet tall, more wolf than man, and all fur and fangs. A properly done werewolf looks like all of nature’s wild fury condensed uncomfortably into a shape barely resembling a human being. We get that here, and with zero use of CGI. These beasts are terrifying. Marshall’s team wasn’t operating with a huge budget, but I’d put the wolves here as some of the best ever seen in cinema.

The unit holds up in a cabin, which, as we all know, is never a sanctuary, but the men aren’t going down without a fight, and Dog Soldiers gives us a great one, stretching out over the back two thirds of the film. With Sergeant Wells wounded, Private Cooper essentially takes charge, and he’s got his work cut out for him, with attacks coming not just from all side, but even from the cabin’s roof. We never feel safe, and a civilian woman in the cabin, Emma (Megan Cleasby), is on hand to serve up several sobering reminders to Cooper that he isn’t.

I do think Emma’s presence in the film isn’t really necessary. Sure, it gives McKidd someone to build some nice scenes with, but there’s nothing Emma being there brings that the other soldiers in the unit couldn’t have instead. If there’s a weakness to Dog Soldiers, it’s that time spent on Cleasby’s Emma could have probably been better used further exploring the camaraderie between McKidd and his unit, or even the tension created by his presence (since serving alongside them wasn’t his first choice).

Be that as it may, this is one film I’ve had in my DVD collection longer than most others. I haven’t upgraded it to Blu-Ray yet simply because I feel it almost works better in a lower-fidelity format, making it feel more like a glorious throwback to mid-eighties horror and thrillers. Dog Soldiers is a ton of fun at this time of the year, and you should dig up a copy for your next full moon night.

With this series winding toward a close, and Halloween approaching, we’ll next take a look at a film I almost didn’t include in this list, but its plot and performances were too compelling not to shine some light on. Even if its main character would really prefer you don’t.