A Biting Civil Commentary

Bruce Von Stiers

Darm and Evo are a couple. The two of them are living in a modern cabin just outside a small village. But an incident with one of their neighbors sets off a night fraught with anguish and possible danger.

This is the premise for the film Dog Bites Man. The film is based on a novel written by Frederick Kirwin, who also wrote the screenplay. The film has the sub-title of The New American Civil War. Which plays into the theme of the film.

The incident that set things in motion involved a neighbor's dog. As the two men, Darm and Evo, are out for a walk, the dog tries to attack them. Apparently, there is also an altercation with the dog's owner. The film starts out in the evening after the incident. Evo, who is a painter, is clearly distraught. He keeps saying things like “what the hell is happening in America?” But Darm is a poet and seems calmer. At least at first. But when things like a rock being thrown through their window, the power going out and a strong smell like gasoline permeating the air, sets both on edge.

Throughout the evening and into the night, the two men lament on the bigotry against gay people and make somewhat bizarre commentary over food and food choices. And that the country is not just reverting to the old ways of prejudice and social and political divisions but has ramped it up far too much. The two of them segway between comparisons of city versus village, educated people versus uneducated people and straight versus gay people.

Andrew Rogers is Darm. He's starred in a few Hallmark romance films along with co-starring in films such as Code Break and DC Down. Cade Morrison is Evo. He's acted in several short films and was assistant director on a couple of feature films.

The film was directed by Vincent Zambrano. A painter as well as a filmmaker, he is known for his films, La Arana, Shadowboxing and Vigal Ozeri: The Chameleon.

Brian Timmons was the cinematographer. His previous work includes documentaries on record producer Creed Taylor and photorealist painter Anthony Brunelli.

Frederick Kirwin has stated that the book, and subsequently the film, were based on a true incident that happened to him and his partner.

Dog Bites Man is being labeled as a thriller. The physical danger is sort of there, but this is more of a psychological thriller than anything else. Rogers and Morrison provide strong performances. The modern cabin most of the film takes place in looks really nice.

Dog Bites Man is a pretty decent film. Although a bit preachy at times, it does show how helpless people might feel when dealing with certain situations and others who want to drag society back a hundred years or so.

The film has been shown at numerous film festivals and has won awards such as Best Feature Screenplay, Best Thriller Screenplay, Best Director Feature Film and Best Actor In An Indie Film.

Dog Bites Man is now streaming on Prime Video.

To find out more about Dog Bites Man, visit the film's official website at https://www.dogbitesmanfilm.com/

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© 2024 Bruce E Von Stiers