A pack of domestic dogs with collective intelligence (possibly the result of classified experiments involving a linear accelerator and pheromones, although it is never made clear) attack the population of a Californian college town. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. star David McCallum, sporting a mop-top and beard, plays beer-swilling professor Harlan Thompson, the film's unlikely, double-denim hero, who, in a blatant crib from Jaws, tries to convince those in charge of the danger, all to no avail.I'm a big fan of the 'animal attack' sub-genre, but this entry from TV director Burt Brinckerhoff, is… if you can excuse the pun… a real dog of a film. The first hour is extremely dull, with too much in the way of meaningless scientific conjecture from the college egg-heads and not nearly enough canine action. The dogs are in evidence a lot more for the final half hour, but none of the attack scenes are very convincing, or scary, no matter how much fake blood the film-makers cover the victims in.Still, even though this one is massively disappointing regarding thrills and chills, it does at least offer up a couple of unintentionally amusing scenes, including Dallas star Linda Gray being attacked by a doberman while taking a shower, the dogs trapping Thompson and his love interest (Sandra McCabe) in a garage, and the slaughter of a whole library full of students. The film ends with a hilarious final shot of an angry cat, threatening a sequel with killer moggies (which thankfully never materialised).3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

After reviewing a film where dogs disguised as rats kill people I thought a nice antidote might be seeing a film where dogs playing dogs go on a rampage and kill people . Variety is the spice of life and these type of movies are as spicy as a glass of cold water but the premise seems to have a relatively cheesy and predictable storyline and expectations are definitely not high so there's probably not much chance of being bitterly disappointed by it's quality . I mean we are talking about a film that stars David McCallum McCallum is a Glasgow born actor with a very international background . That's one of the problems with a film starring McCallum - his accent is grating and distracting and comes closest to sounding Australian while never actually sounding Australian . At least his accent if not his performance does have an impact even if it's not in a positive way because everyone else is extremely bland . Dogs are being driven wild by pheromones via medical experiments . Don't ask if this is scientifically plausible because you're not supposed to examine the science in any great depth . You will be able to examine the rather poor acting as people are attacked by dogs including a biker who is savaged and gives the impression he's being molested to death judging by the rather sexual sounds he's emitting surrounded by a couple of mutts . An old lady comes to his rescue then just as she realises what's happening she gets jumped by a dog and turns in to a stuntman wearing a white wig and she too starts moaning " oh oh oh God " almost as though she's getting rogered by a mammal that has a fetish for older woman . . Biker boy staggers away while there's a jump cut to the next day with Aussie Scotsman getting told a biker has been mauled to death by some wild dogs . This scene doesn't make much sense since it's highly unlike the injuries sustained by the biker would be fatal . And what happened to little old lady/stuntman ? Did the dogs hide her body or consume her so completely nothing remained of her ? As the film continues we're treated to more and more outlandish plot turns that are highly unlikely such dog victims being found in cupboards . There is a deranged quality to all this which means DOGS has an entertainment value even if that value is totally unintentional

The "nature attacks" subgenre of horror had pretty much reached its apogee in '76 when this minor entry hit the drive-in screens, and for what it is, it's not entirely valueless. The story, which is actually rather plausible, denotes a sleepy college town where the pet pooches of local denizens have taken to packing in the night. Initially, cattle are the prey of these abruptly aggressive mongrels, but it's not long before people are attacked, at first alone, then in groups. Science teachers from the college provide the usual explanatory double-talk, and do their best to alert the community to the mounting danger against cliché Mayoral resistance.For a quickie this low on the totem, DOGS/SLAUGHTER has a few effective moments, and stands as a par example of its type. I'd say they could have used MORE of the canines(as there seems to be around a dozen passing off for many more), and a bit more fang-bearing and growling might have added greater threat to the situation at hand(generally, these dogs just scamper about playfully as folks run screaming...only a single oft-shown Doberman is really physically imposing and scary). Still, I found myself taking an unexpected liking to this supplicatory little film, despite its poverty-row provisions and customary B-movie shortcomings. Gotta love the retarded "shocker" ending...*groan*... 4/10

My girlfriend told me she saw this movie in California in early 77. She was horrified beyond belief and cannot understand why it is literally no where, and virtually gone. Her friend Dianne and her were around 18-19 years old, after the movie, they ran in unbelievable fear to their apartment complex, struggling with the key. With all the horror movies to date, I am surprised I can't find it, nor was there ever a remake. I would love to find a copy for her, as she has told me many times she has tried to find it and cannot. Does anyone know where it is to be found? If so, please e-mail me @ [email protected]. Thanks, Rick