Adam E
One of only two movies directed by veteran actor L. Q. Jones, A Boy And His Dog is a cult sci-fi thriller from 1975 set in a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic Earth where society has divided itself into two rather twisted slices of madness.
We follow Vic, an 18 year-old boy played by Don Johnson, who walks through the desolate wasteland that is the world, thieving and scavenging, with the help of a telepathic dog he calls Blood. Yes, this movie's best kept secret is that it's both a very adult science fiction film with some genuinely disturbing elements and it's also got a dark sense of humour, hence the talking dog. Before you picture a cross between Steel Dawn and Show Dogs, I should point out that A Boy And His Dog is a much better and more interesting movie than these two combined.
This is a truly messed-up and unpleasant depiction of the future, one that's a lot more daring and repellent than in most science fiction films, so be warned: it does contain some pretty graphic scenes à la Clockwork Orange. The world above ground is one where men are monsters who kill and enslave each other, where rape is an everyday occurrence, so it's particularly scary to see our protagonists, not only fail to criticize this society, but not even try and actually take part in it.
Vic and Blood, along with Quilla (Susanne Benton), a young woman they met along the way, discover a city underground called Topeka, in which a seemingly more civil society has prevailed, with Quilla's father, played by Jason Robards, being part of the ruling Committee. Topeka, it turns out, is also quite twisted in its own way and Vic eventually rejects it. This is one movie the likes of which you rarely encounter. It's the kind of film you see once and remember vividly long after. This unsettling vision of the future and the passive way in which our supposed heroes have accepted and adapted to it, along with the black humor throughout, especially when it comes to the shocking ending, makes A Boy And His Dog a hard film to forget.
If you're not expecting anything from it, it's likely to send a few (probably unwelcome) surprises your way. For such a low budget film, it really makes quite an impact. With a premise as potentially silly as this, it's a miracle that it never turns into a joke like the much campier Barbarella or Zardoz.
It'll turn off some viewers pretty quickly but A Boy And His Dog is, frankly, a must see. It's never particularly pleasant but there's something fascinating about this world gone mad and its odious inhabitants who have resigned to the folly around them, regrettably, without much resistance.
Bizarre.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
10/12/23
Full Review
Ed R
The movie is based on the Harlan Ellison short story of the same name and does a pretty good job of following the story line.
Post-apocalyptic with a telepathic dog (Blood) helping Vic (a young Don Johnson) find his way around in the world.
Loyalty and Love, but who's love, and who's loyalty?
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
09/27/23
Full Review
Tony B
I liked the gritty apocalyptic look. Some desert scenes needed more depth, better sets and proper supporting characters, like Roadwarrior. The underground scenes were ridiculous and could have been done way better with a more imaginative plot, think Stepford Wives 1975 and West World 1973. Don and the Dog's acting made the movie, female nature they exposed perfectly, and the ending they got absolutely right.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/07/23
Full Review
Christine G
The best thing about this movie is the dog, (and I DO mean the dog, not the dog's voice actor, Tim McIntire.) At the end, you're left wondering what just happened, and how can you get the 1h 31m of your life back that I just wasted watching this.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
04/17/23
Full Review
Taylor L
Definitely had a very strong influence on the Fallout franchise, with the twisted caricatures of American society and underground post-apocalyptic bunkers.
During the Cold War, it looks like the threat of nuclear annihilation really got people wondering what the aftermath of the big blast would be; some opted for twists on classic material, like I Am Legend and its first film adaptation, The Last Man on Earth, which mostly explore loneliness and the folly of man. A Boy and His Dog opts for a more brutal approach than most of its contemporaries, hanging out in purely amoral survivalist territory where every character attempts to use one another for their own personal gain, even if they pretend to have a skin of charm hiding their true intentions. But it's not all doom and gloom, scrounging-in-the-rubble stylings; there's a whole twisted bit of surrealism with a community of survivors operating in a self-sufficient dystopian bunker wearing whiteface and condeming dissenters to death.
The movie definitely tries for more shock value than anything else (though the talking dog kind of takes away from the seriousness of the situation), and you would be hard-pressed to find someone that thinks this film is a really tough take on human nature, but it was one of the earliest films to dive into the now-standard barren post-nuke landscape. Nowadays it's not going to find a ton of new fans given the accusations of misogyny all the way back in 1975, where you've got a tag-team pair of protagonists that work together best when they're trying to scrounge up women to rape. Not exactly guys to root for, but you're not supposed to root for them anyway. (2.5/5)
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
S S
Cult Classic one of Don Johnson's most amazing films along with the series he does later on that doesn't get reviews and is amazing too in England with one of those Harry Potter dudes. One of the most underrated actors.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/19/22
Full Review
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