Bearing no relation to the 1977 film with the same name, The Pack is a little Australian pic that kind of came out of nowhere, so I wasn't expecting much going in. To my surprise the movie ended up being pretty good, as it offered great atmosphere and tension that kept me glued to the screen from the start.

Helmed by first time director Nick Robertson, the story focuses on a family that's struggling to pay the bills on their small farm and now the bank is looking to foreclose on the property. It's a fairly dire situation for them, but it's about to get a WHOLE lot worse, because a pack of feral dogs are on the prowl and have their sights set... on the family house!! (*cue dramatic music*)

While the story is a little simplistic and doesn't deliver anything new, the movie really shines in all the other departments. This is specifically the case with the atmosphere, which is very dark and foreboding and just adds to the tension when those pesky dogs come into play. It's also nice that the filmmakers kept things minimal and opted not to CG the dogs (or use CG at all), as real dogs and practical effects were used.

However, things do take a bit to kick in since the film takes time to establish its characters, so that might turn some people off, however I found it refreshing and it helped add to the fear of dread that the characters and viewer share. Of course, there are some minor plot holes and character annoyances here and there, but nothing that severely deterred my positive thoughts towards the movie.

This is a straightforward animal run amok movie that doesn't offer anything new, but is surprisingly well directed and delivers some great atmosphere and tension. The dogs were ferocious and you really want the family to make it out unscathed. I'd recommend giving it a look if you're in the mood for a simple killer animal flick.