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%% Bring CompleteMonster examples to this thread before adding any: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok&page=1. Check the FAQ first to see what would qualify characters for the trope, and if there has been previous discussion on the work.
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** If you take the WordOfGod that the werewolves can resist the transformation, this throws [[spoiler: Megan into a new light. She appeared to be resisting for as long as possible, so was her eventual transformation a form of Stockholm Syndrome? Or was she going ThenLetMeBeEvil, realising the soldiers had no chance against the werewolves? Or was it a form of SuicideByCop? If the latter, this would also explain her little speech and apology - preparing the soldiers for her transformation so they'd be able to kill her.]]
** Did Terry deliberately vomit on Ryan's head to stop him from shooting Sam the dog?
* CanonFodder: The sequence where Megan cuts her hand on a pane of glass has been hotly debated on forums as to what it really means. WordOfGod is that it was meant to foreshadow a plot point for a planned sequel.
* CatharsisFactor: Spoon unleashing everything he's got once he's alone with a werewolf in the kitchen. After all they've done throughout the film - including the cruel deaths they inflicted on [[spoiler: Joe and Terry]] - it is unbelievably satisfying to see Spoon kick one of its teeth right out of its mouth. [[spoiler: While he dies soon afterwards]], it's a beloved scene for these reasons.
* CompleteMonster: [[{{Jerkass}} Captain Richard Ryan]] is the icy head of special ops who shows himself to be a remorseless, cold-hearted man when he orders Private Cooper to [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten shoot a dog to prove himself]], [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals shooting it himself]] when Cooper refuses. Later using Cooper's squad as bait to have them killed by a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] in the Scottish Highlands, Ryan instead finds his own squad massacred. [[ZombieInfectee Concealing his own bite]], Ryan later transforms and attempts to slaughter Cooper's team before returning to attempt to kill Cooper as painfully as he can.
* CrossesTheLineTwice:
** Sam the dog making off with the bandage holding Sarge's intestines in. It should be disgusting (and it kind of is) but it's also BloodyHilarious.
** And there's the human bones Cooper and Sarge find [[spoiler:in the house's wardrobe. Cooper's response to seeing them sums it up pretty well, since this is the first time we see solid evidence that the werewolves when in human form were hiding their victims' corpses around their home, but it's also really hilarious because, the allegedly-kind family who are secretly murderous werewolves ''literally'' have skeletons in the closet]].
* CultClassic: The film was a financial success but only got a limited release in America, going straight to the Sci-Fi Channel after a week. These days however, it's become quite the cult favorite.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Neil Marshall anticipated Spoon becoming this. [[spoiler: He was originally going to have a more gruesome death, but they soon realised it might be too much for the audience]]. Sure enough, he's probably the favorite character in the film. His PreMortemOneLiner "I hope I give you the shits, you fucking wimp" is frequently quoted.
** Pv.t Joe "I'll fuckin' have ye" Kirkley is equally well-loved. His SkewedPriorities of constantly worrying about the football results endears him to many.
* FanFicFuel: [[spoiler: Megan was living with the Uath family for at least a year, apparently trapped and unable to leave. How she ended up turned instead of just eaten, whether she tried to escape beforehand or her feelings towards the family]] are all ripe for interpretation.
* HarsherInHindsight: The continued development hell for the sequel, considering Neil Marshall's other famous horror film ''Film/TheDescent'' got one - and it was met with {{Sequelitis}} reactions.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Creator/SeanPertwee in charge of a guy named Bruce [[Series/{{Gotham}} is funny now.]]
** The climax involving [[spoiler: the house being blown up]] is amusing to ''Series/GameOfThrones'' fans and Creator/LiamCunningham's role in ''The Battle of Blackwater''. [[spoiler: He survives the explosion both times]]. In addition, Neil Marshall also directed Blackwater.
** And Cunningham playing ArmchairMilitary is extremely hilarious not just with his role as Ser Davos, but the amount of other times he's played the everyman soldier figure. He even does so in Neil Marshall's ''{{Film/Centurion}}''.
** Neil Marshall's next horror film was ''Film/TheDescent'', and a GenderFlip version of this; with an all-female cast fighting monsters and a blonde Scottish character as the protagonist.
* HoYay: Cooper and Sgt Wells naturally. The latter gets a drunken scene where he declares that "I love you", and Megan jokes about leaving them alone.
* IronWoobie: Megan if you think about it. [[spoiler: She's been an unwilling part of the werewolf family for two years, implied to have been trapped with no way to leave. She latches onto the soldiers in the hopes they'll be able to save her, but has to watch them die one by one, and her chances of escaping with them]].
* JustHereForGodzilla: Sgt Wells is one of the favorite characters in the whole film. And while Sean Pertwee is billed first, so he doesn't quite qualify for EnsembleDarkhorse status, a lot of viewers tune in for the appeal of seeing [[{{Series/Gotham}} Alfred]] take on werewolves.
* LoveToHate: Liam Cunningham leans into EvilIsPetty to make Ryan a magnificent {{Troll}}, and a very satisfying HateSink.
* MemeticMutation: "[[BloodyHilarious Sausages]]!"[[note]]Sarge's reaction to watching his own intestines spilling from his torn apart gut[[/note]]
* MoralEventHorizon:
** See Ryan's EstablishingCharacterMoment.
** Let's not even talk about the family of ''sentient'' werewolves' habits and Terry's death.
* {{Narm}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX9S3hdgZ5g The trailer]]'s attempts at selling Megan as the lead ActionGirl by asking viewers which one of the group the audience thought would crack first, and then accusatorily saying "did you choose the woman?" and "don't be so sexist".
* NarmCharm:
** [[spoiler: Bruce's death]] is almost far too implausible to take seriously - somehow impaling himself by running right into a tree branch. But it's still suitably horrifying and the subsequent werewolf attack is really effective.
** The "there is no Spoon" line should be extremely ridiculous, and date the movie with a ShoutOut to ''Film/TheMatrix''. But it confirms the [[spoiler: death of a much beloved character]] and can't be anything but heartbreaking.
* NauseaFuel:
** Sarge gets his stomach clawed open, and his intestines fall out, requiring them to be ''glued'' back together. But before that happens, Sam the dog has to nearly make off with some of his bandages. It was originally going to be even worse - Sam was going to tug on one of the intestines!
** Terry vomits right on top of Captain Ryan's head, which is quite unpleasant for emetophobes.
** The aftermath of [[spoiler: Joe's death]], in which a river of blood spills out of the car door.
* OlderThanTheyThink: As awesome as it was that Spoon was able to fight with a werewolf hand-to-hand without the use of any [[OneHitKill silver-based weapon]], ''Dog Soldiers'' wasn't the first film to feature a BadassNormal human who was able to take on a werewolf with nothing but his wits and fighting skills. The 1996 film ''Film/WereWolf1996'' actually featured a random BadassBystander who was able to go toe-to-toe with a werewolf using nothing but his martial arts abilities and put up a decent fight, though he still didn't win in the end.
* OutOfTheGhetto: Neil Marshall was surprised to find out that the movie resonated with American audiences, who understood the British humor and had no problem with the non-RP accents (by contrast, ''Film/TheFullMonty'' required subtitles).
* RetroactiveRecognition:
** ''Series/GameOfThrones'' fans might now recognise Captain Ryan[[note]]Inverted. he and Sean Pertwee were the only known actors in the entire cast[[/note]].
** Creator/KevinMcKidd as the lead seems much more obvious now than in 2002. Justified, [[StarMakingRole since it was the role that put him in the spotlight]].
** Looks like [[Series/{{Gotham}} Alfred]] wasn't kidding about how tough he had to be in the British military. Sean Pertwee was a recognisable name at the time, but obviously is even more famous nowadays.
** To a lesser extent, Emma Cleasby, who played Megan showed up in ''Series/CoronationStreet'' as a recurring character called Sylvia Ramsden.
* StoicWoobie: Cooper is a good soldier and more than qualified to join the Special Forces squad, but he gets failed because he won't shoot a dog for no good reason. Then he has to watch his comrades die one by one, and see his leader slowly transform into a monster. And yet he's one of the least angsty characters in the movie!
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Bruce the one corporal in the squad, one of Sgt Wells's war buddies and with potential to be a character in his own right, is the first one killed off at only thirty minutes. His death is a complete accident and isn't necessary for the plot at that point - since Sarge being attacked by a wolf could still have happened on its own. So he could have lasted longer and got a chance to demonstrate more personality.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Once TheReveal happens, [[spoiler: Megan never gets to interact with the Uath family about how they've kept her trapped for two years. It's never examined at what point she decided to turn on them or how complicit she'd been before.]] Granted, they weren't the main characters but still. With WordOfGod that [[spoiler: she wasn't actually killed by the headshot]], it's possible this was ground that was going to be covered in sequels.
* TooCoolToLive:
** [[spoiler:Joe and Spoon are {{Badass Normal}}s who do most of the heavy lifting with regards to fighting the werewolves, both of them sharing TheBigGuy role - so it was inevitable they'd go down fighting.]]
** [[spoiler: Sgt Wells is AFatherToHisMen, played by perpetual darkhorse Sean Pertwee and rejoins the fight after having his intestines nearly ripped out. You know he's going down with an incredibly badass HeroicSacrifice.]]
* TrappedByMountainLions: The backstory wherein it's revealed Megan knows Ryan and was seconded to his team, which plays into the conflict not at all and reveals nothing about Ryan that the audience didn't already know or could have guessed. It was forced in by producers, and Neil Marshall tried to delete as much as possible from the finished film, because even he felt it didn't make sense.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The towering, lightning fast lycanthropes, with their fluidly snarling, naturalistically detailed heads, are awesomely, terrifyingly believable. If you ever did happen to run into "fuckin' howling things," you might easily expect them to look like this. Sean Pertwee admits to being terrified of them when filming the scene in which the wolves close around Sarge on the bed.
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