Review of A Boy and His Dog (1975) by Aaron H — 23 Nov 2008

A decent treatment by LQ Jones but by far doesnt quite measure up to the vision that was inspired by the novella. And while it generally follows the same plot that is tackled by Harlan Ellison, the movie more or less comes up short because it skimps on the atmosphere, something that post-apocalyptic flicks generally need in great abundance.

It had the look of Mad Max or Road Warrior but it was tinged with a general sense of merriment despite all of the disturbing implications of Vic's world. If it sounds like im talking around the film's content itself then you would be right.

I dont want to ruin anything by tossing spoilers around but I will say that if you read the novella you will be much more pleased, not only for the sake of the little details that get left out in the film version but also for the fact that the story is somewhat perverted into outright glaring satire with very little grace.

Much of the subtle commentary and beauty is thus lost and the last scene especially distorts the original vision of the author (as Ellisson very explicitly points out in an interview later on during an acidic Q&A by feminists--which was hilarious btw).

That said, the movie does have a quiet charm about it and its rather light-hearted take on doomsday can still leave you smiling at the thought of a telepathic dog and his 'master' roaming a wasteland looking for females to 'nail'.