A farming family must fight for survival when a pack of wild dogs descends upon their isolated farmhouse. They are forced into survival mode to make it through the night. While the production levels are far better than you would expect, the film lacks the inventiveness needed to rise above other escape/survival films.

Carla (Anna Lise Phillips) and her husband, Adam (Jack Campbell) live in rural, farmland territory in the less civilized area of New Zealand.  She is a veterinarian, tending to the town pets, while her husband manages the heards of sheep on their farm.  Their children daughter, Sophie (Katie Moore) and son Henry (Hamish Phillips) make the best of the situation.

Things are not exactly ideal for the family though.  While Henry takes being out in the country in stride, learning animal medicine from his mother, Sophie longs to be closer to the city and a social life.  That’s not all.  The farm has fallen on hard times.  A bank representative arrives to let the couple know that, if they cannot meet their next house payment, the bank will be foreclosing.  This, along with off-handing comments about utilities being shut off, and you get the idea that they are struggling.

Leave it to a pack of wild dogs descending on the isolated farm house to bring the family together. As night falls the family settles in for another night at home. While outside Adam is attacked by one of the ravenous animals and a full menagerie of mongrels begins to pace the outside of the home, looking for a way in.  After calling the police, and seeing said officer ripped to shreds before their very eyes, it is clear that they must escape from the house to find true safety.

The concept of a killer pack of wild dogs is not new.  There was even another film specifically called The Pack from 1977. The difficulty in a story like this is that the writers have to ratchet up the tension in ways that audiences have not seen before. The bad news is that The Pack brings scarcely anything new to the dog dish. The animals attack exactly when you expect them to, almost as if it’s telegraphed.  The kill scenes themselves are simply shot with the victim lying face up, arms twitching. It would have been a lot of fun to see some POV shots of the dogs sneaking up on their prey ala Jaws, or maybe to see one of the humans going mano y perro, if you will, in a battle of wits.

Another major problem is that while the movie does a great job at setting up the atmosphere of the wilderness and the plight of the people living there, all of that work goes out the window when the dogs show up. After the animals descend, we are asked to forget that the house is being foreclosed on, or that their farm is failing.

This isn’t a bad film, there is a lot to enjoy here. Both Anna Lise Phillips and Jack Campbell do fine jobs in their respective rolls as do the actors playing their children. Director of Photography, Benjamin Shirley elevates the material with his moody cinematography. You can actually feel the warm safety of the fireplace after the power has gone out at the farm house.  The deep blacks of the night shots and the blue tonalities of the forests during the day are also a sight to behold.  Too, Sound Designer, Michelle Child fleshes out the atmosphere by surrounding viewers in rich soundscapes.  The creaking of tall trees in the wind contrasted by the menacing snarl of the title characters shows her range and ability.

If you are looking for a good popcorn movie to hunker down with tonight, look no further than The Pack. While a little shabby, it certainly does the job if you are looking for a suspense film that moves at a clip.  Just don’t think too hard.