CONTAINS SPOILERS

Tragic and horrifying. Being a fly on the wall to a lonely and messed up person is not an easy watch, a slice of life movie turned into a nightmare. Seeing so much isolation and pain is heartbreaking and the violent acts gut wrenchingly real. No flashy explosions or extreme blood-it chooses to show the affect of violence rather then focusing on the brutality.

I don’t really think it’s that violent or controversial-but I appreciate the style. A movie that truly shows who the Joker is-but also stands alone as a great psychological drama. Showing how people with mental illnesses are often judged and thrown away by society due to funding being cut for social services-which to me was the saddest aspect because it’s just so damn real. People who are harmless (NOT like Joker BTW) but people who need true help are again, thrown away and put into horrible places because the people in charge don’t care enough to help them or give money to psychologists or whatever the case maybe.

My only issues were having Bruce Wayne in the movie to much-I felt he was unnecessary. I honestly would have just left him right at the end of the movie and not the other scene. The stuff with his dad was great-but Arthur seeing Bruce as a kid at the mansion didn’t add much to the plot in my opinion. I would have had no mention of him, then at the end have the big reveal of ‘oh crap, that’s Bruce Wayne as a kid with his parents dead!” But really had I been the screenwriter, I wouldn’t have had Bruce in the the movie at all. I would have preferred a more stand alone experience. Had I been the screenwriter I wouldn’t have mentioned Bruce Wayne-I’d only mention his father like they did. Showing the death of Bruce’s parents was just kinda…meh. I wasn’t interested in that aspect at all.

Again though, this is a very good movie, I totally will want to own this. It’s not perfect, but it’s a really, really well done character study.

My story “A Krampus Carol” is featured in this issue of “Nebula Tales” So excited! 🙂

The visuals were nice, especially the opening shot with the animals crowding around pride rock. Nothing beats hand drawn animation though.

The singers were great, I loved hearing covers of the originals but done differently. I’m a sucker for theater, so maybe that’s why. This will not go down as a classic like the original has, but most remakes are terrible and this respected the original without ripping it off. Lots of new cool things were added as well.

“Be Prepared” was a huge let down, I really was hoping for a big number, something dark and huge like the original-but it was just…meh. Scar is one of the best Disney villains in my opinion-and they didn’t really honor him here.

Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner stole the show, I thought those two were adorable and I actually think Billy has a REALLY nice voice. I know he hated singing, but I really was surprised he could carry a tune, maybe he always could and I just never knew it.

I’m glad I saw this on a big screen, I think this is a very worthy remake and I for one enjoyed it. That’s what a movie should do right? Be enjoyable?

This movie came about when I knew I wanted to try something more ambitious, something with more locations and more actors. I had a script in the back of my mind, originally it was going to be a short story but I soon realized it actually would make a better movie. I then converted the story to a script format, which wasn’t hard and I didn’t have to tweak much.

The first thing I set off doing was getting footage of my dog, Xena. Hours of footage. In the backyard, walking, I needed every angle. I knew I wasn’t going to try to control her when the other cast came over to act. I’m not a dog trainer. So, I used the gorgeous fursuit head created by Two-Faced Creations as a sort of stunt double for Xena. With the right angles, I knew it would work.

As I was filming, I ordered tons of blood and gore props from Amazon, about 75 or 80 dollars worth. I was inspired by the you tube channel Racka Racka as far as gore and blood, they’re quite incredible. It’s not QUITE that gruesome, but I feel this movie is certainly edgy as far as violence.

Getting actors was both easy and hard. Filming at my aunt’s July 4th party is almost a tradition at this point, everyone who was involved always are great to work with. The individual victims were easy, but waiting for the right scheduling is always a nerve-wracking for me. Even if I trust the person 100% it’s just how my brain works. Over the course of a few weeks I managed to get a bunch of great people.

As far as Roscoe’s narration, I hired a talented You Tube artist, The Lonesome Outlaw his voice brought such a power to the role that I certainly could not have accomplished, and his price was amazingly good.

So yeah, this movie is truly something that speaks to two genres I love, horror and animals. Not many of those around. I hope you enjoy this twisted tale (tail?)

Review by: Aaron B.

Jagger was a book I heard of on an ‘animals gone bad’ horror site. They’re aren’t a lot of evil dog books (of course Cujo would be the most famous which I found boring) When I read the description, I knew I had to try it. Was it worth it? I’d say 100% yes, this really is a grindhouse horror movie with a big, mean pup as the killer. It has gruesome kills, teenagers in the woods, explicit sex and a story just real enough, but cheesy enough to work.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the characters, I never felt like the author was trying to cram too much into one book. I often find horror books a bit slow because they focus SO much on the human drama, by the time the gore and kills come I’m too bored to care. Much like with a Stephen King book (save for Misery and Carrie which I love)

This author, Kristopher Rufty is very good at setting a scene and totally making it like a movie. As someone with ADHD, this style of writing is great. Just enough to set a mood, but not going through every single plant and house. For me though, I was in this for one reason. Big dog kills people. Yes, this happens. A lot. I loved every kill. Whether it was describing the gore and carnage, or a really suspenseful chase scene out of a 80s slasher, this really worked.

Was this the best dog horror book I’ve ever read? No. For me it would be “Hell Hound”, but this is second for me. Both books are extremely different in tone, Jagger is a bloodbath, while “Hell Hound” is a psychological drama. I really do like Mr. Rufty though, and want to read more of his stuff, he’s a talented horror writer and helped me get my brain going for what kind of horror novel I want to write. Totally recommend this.

http://dasquadpodcast.buzzsprout.com/375692/1373995-equus21-goh-furry-drama-writing-and-film?play=true

I was a guest on this furry podcast. 🙂