Camp fanatics may enjoy the cheesy nature of ATOMIC DOG's premise, but this mutant tale-wagger can't hold a candle to such classics of the possessed canine subgenre as DEVIL DOG, THE HOUND OF HELL (1978). Free of gore, this mild sci-fi is recommended for families of dog-fancying,
anti-nuke activists.
Mr. and Mrs. Yates (Daniel Hugh Kelly, Cindy Pickett) move their family to an idyllic community near the Devils' Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Unlike his pre-teen sister Heather (Katie Stuart), rebellious adolescent Josh (Micah Gardner) hates suburbia. He toys with joining a delinquent gang headed
by Dwayne Compton (Scott Olynek), who dares his buddies to trespass at the nuke plant, not realizing its guard dog has been exposed to a radiation leak. After a frightened Josh heads home with his pooch Trixie, the Atomic Dog chases Dwayne, who falls to his death down a gully.
Trixie's scent has been picked up by the amorous Atomic Dog. Lured away and impregnated, Trixie later dies while delivering puppies Scamp and Lobo. Proud papa Atomic Dog begins communicating mentally with his son Lobo. When Atomic Dog kills a veterinarian (Deryl Hayer), he lets Lobo take the
blame. With the help of neighbor Janice Rifkin (Isabella Hofmann), an animal biologist, a chastened Josh sets out to prove Lobo's innocence in the killing. But Josh is forced to shoot Lobo when, on orders from his father, the pup attacks Dr. Rifkin. Unable to control Scamp as he could Lobo, Atomic
Dog adopts Heather, encouraging her to follow him to the plant. When the Yates try to reclaim their daughter, Atomic Dog tries to kill Josh and Mr. Yates by pulling the cord on overhead pipes. But when Heather gets in the way, Atomic Dog sacrifices his own life to push her to safety.
By the time the titular pooch has redeemed himself by turning heroic, the jaws of most viewers will be sore from dropping in disbelief. Who were ATOMIC DOG's producers trying to appeal to with this loopy script about a mutant mutt with Kreskinesque powers? To get to the nuggets of bad movie fun,
however, you have to sift through tedious scientific explanations and pabulum about parental-child trust. Had the screenplay paralleled Atomic Dog's brainwashing parenting with Mr. Yates's dissipating control over his kids, this might have been a deliberate howler instead of what it is, an
inadvertent dog. (Violence.) leave a comment
