Witches and the testicles of the devil himself, what more could you expect from this original dark animated feature?
Fantasy and horror are combined to create the legend of the Dog of God. As a tavern lady is accused of witchcraft, a mysterious figure arrives with a special gift in this dark, sexual horror.
Written by Hailey Passmore
After the previous success of predecessor Latvian animation film Flow (Zibalodis, 2024), the country’s animators knew it was their time to step into the spotlight. Unlike the lighthearted elements incorporated with the dark undertone of Flow, brothers Ratis and Lauris Ābele have brought audiences down a darker, insidious path. Dog of God is not made for the eyes of children in the slightest. With its dark and perilous signifiers – murky omens and sexual perversions – Dog of God is an eerie folktale that will leave the viewer forever changed.
A small backwater town in Livonia (nowadays known as the Baltic region), late 17th century, is ruled in combination by a dictatorial pastor and a corrupt baron. High up in their rules, both men have lackeys who carry out their detestable errands. The pastor focuses on corrupting the minds of the town, forcing them all to believe that they have sinned and cannot make up for their foul deeds – drinking in the local tavern, and sexual fantasies they all share. As audiences are brought into the darkness of the town and the sinister leaders, a man lurks in from the outside. One day, the pastor’s holy relic – a piece of hay – is stolen and he accuses the lovely tavern keeper, not only of theft but of witchcraft as well. Neve has been nothing but pleasant in the town, and her stealthy experiments in alchemy have invited these claims to follow her. The pastor requires the baron’s assistance in arresting Neve. However, as the baron discovers an unholy object, he recruits Neve to help discover what the object can truly do for him. As Neve comes closer and closer to her demise, this otherworldly figure gets ever so closer to the town, changing the people’s inner minds as he approaches. As his secrets unravel, the town comes to know he is the ‘Dog of God,’ and the item the baron has been gifted happens to be a blasphemous gift: the testicles of the devil himself.
Five minutes into Dog of God, and you are asking yourself: Did the movie just start with him pulling someone’s balls off? What an ingenious introduction to this dark, dingy, and twisted world. The Ābeles have crafted a dark world filled with sexual fetishizing and roots for uproar and betrayal that stands out from the very beginning of the film. As soon as the darker element comes into play, it is clear that there is no space for a child audience within the film. Animated films, in general, do not tend to deliver such haunting imagery. Yet Dog of God uses rotoscoped animation – not unlike that used in The Lord of the Rings (Bakshi, 1978) – imaginative cinematography, and rests on the brink of reality, to tell a horny story of a woman accused of witchcraft and god’s dog as an irrational protector in a 17th-century Livonian village.
Voice acting is less important than the plot and animation itself. Dog of God is presented through dark, gloomy, and rainy landscapes that work as the perfect background for the events to follow. The rotoscoped style of animation allows for a depth between foreground, midground, and background, even though the craft is mainly two-dimensional. As the film moves forward, it becomes apparent that the church believes all people – the poor, the wealthy – are headed towards the same fate, with the proof being in the rain and darkness that has been occurring. Through horniness, sexual fantasies, and illegal operations, the viewer must pay careful attention to truly understand the purpose behind each character’s actions. A good amount of the film is spent on character backstories and developing each for a specific purpose that will be uncovered before the end of their story. Characters are not introduced in a typical method, but the way in which they join the world is understood as the film carries on and eventually comes to an end. You are even left at times wondering when the titular ‘Dog of God’ will arrive to wreak havoc or save the day.
Unusual to say the least, Dog of God does manage to provide a different form of entertainment for the viewer. Punishment for their sins, a focus of the film, comes in ways that were not apparent at the beginning – not apparent, but hoped for. Will Neve and the ‘Dog of God’ prevail? What will happen with the devil’s own testicles? 92 minutes of questioning and discovery is what lies ahead in a viewing of Dog of God and will leave you reflecting by its end.
With its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on the 6th of June 2025, Dog of God has expanded with its Canadian premiere on the 21st of July at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Gracing a larger, international audience with a viewing, Dog of God could possibly head for bigger and better things with larger releases to come.
Comments
Post a Comment