Dog Pound (2010)

Dog pound tells the tale of three juvenile delinquents - Butch (Adam Butcher) ,Davis (Shane Kippel), and Angel (Mateo Morales) , who arrive at Enola Vale Youth correctional center Montana, and are put under the watchful care of Unit Supervisor, Goodyear (Lawrence Bayne).
 
Whilst the film's beginning sets it up as if we are going to follow the stories of all three juveniles it is Butch, who is in for attacking an officer at another correctional centre - and to a lesser extent, Davis -  who the film focuses on. As new blood they all attract the attention of the compulsory alpha dogs in their particular pound, in this case a group lead by Banks (Taylor Poulin), who takes Davis' new boots and who dish out a nightime beating on Butch, who, of course, knows not to rat on those responsible. However, revenge and payback sit happily on his shoulders, and more violence and tragedy are not long in coming.
 
For those who have seen the classic brit borstal film, Scum, Dog Pound will seem very familar. Whilst not quite a direct copy, it does follow the same basic plot and characterisations. But, it seems to lack the earthiness and a cetain clarity in its rendering of its narrative - too many scenes that serve no purpose - that made Scum much more than just a 'prison' film.
 
That said, it made a pleasant change for this type of film for the 'guard' not to just be a cliched one dimensional bully, Adam Butcher as Butch was very watchable, and if you haven't seen Scum - and like prison films -  you'll probably get much more out of it and find it engaging enough.

BlueRay/DVD Extras: Quite Poor, consisting as they do of the film's Trailer, some vox pops from French viewers of the film, and some very brief cast and director profiles.

Director: Kim Chapiron
Cast: Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Mateo Morales
Certificate: 18
BlueRay/DVD Extras: Dog Pound Trailer, Cast & Crew, Interviews, The TourDVD Runtime: 90 minutes (approx.)
DVD RRP: £19.99
Blu-ray RRP: £24.99
Release date: 3rd January 2010

Scott Vine, CC, Legal Blogger

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