Dogtooth (Kynodontas) (2009)
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 61
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 5
It'll be too disturbing -- and meandering -- for some, but Dogtooth is as disturbing and startlingly original as modern filmmaking gets.
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 1
It'll be too disturbing -- and meandering -- for some, but Dogtooth is as disturbing and startlingly original as modern filmmaking gets.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 7,305
My Rating
Movie Info
Three young people exist in a strange world of their parents' devising in this bizarre drama from writer and director Yorgos Lanthimos. A father and mother (Christos Stergioglou and Michele Valley) live in a large house on the outskirts of town with their three children, whose ages range from mid-teens to early twenties. The children have never been allowed to leave the house (which is surrounded by a tall fence), and their knowledge of the outside world has been strictly controlled by their
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Cast
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Christos Stergioglou
Father -
Michelle Valley
Mother -
Aggeliki Papoulia
Elder Daughter, Older D... -
Mary Tsoni
Younger Daugther -
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Anna Kalaintzidou
Christina
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Dogtooth (Kynodontas) Trailer & Photos
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (5) | DVD (2)
To put it mildly, "Dogtooth" is not for everyone, but it can grow on you even if you think you've rejected its influence.
Top CriticThis is the second feature for Lanthimos, and it's a leap from his well-received debut Kinetta. He skilfully doles out tantalizing pieces of information, keeping the viewer in a constant state of suspense and wonder.
The true dark-horse nominee among this year's foreign-language Oscar contenders, Dogtooth leaves bite marks that stick around long after you are released from its grip.
Horror and cold humor commingle in Dogtooth.
As a film, it's pure and singular, but it's not quite fully formed enough to be what one could call truly visionary.
A creepy-funny art movie that holds a cracked mirror to our most cherished beliefs about family.
A miserable, consistently worthless piece of work...
Cinephiles (have) reacted to Lanthimos' skewed vision in much the same way as the confined children at the heart of the story: through the inquisitive, excited eye of someone catching a glimpse of a new worldview for the first time.
Dogtooth isn't the easiest picture to describe, which is a positive attribute. It's something to be experience, letting the insanity settle in the pit of your stomach, conjuring fear of what lies ahead.
It's a triumph of a filmmaker having everything his own way -- for better or for worse.
That I'm aghast must be a form of overload, and as baffled as I am by this dark underbelly of a film, I did enjoy it.
...flirts with sadism, but it's much more than a sick stunt.
Dogtooth is one of the funniest films of the past 12 months, an unforgettable social-satire, a devious little test of endurance for brave movie-lovers and the best argument against home-schooling since The Jonas Brothers.
A kind of ingenious horror show you just can't take your eyes off of.
Not the cheeriest subject for a movie, but somehow it works.
The possibilities for meaning in Dogtooth aren't inexhaustible, but they are more than enough to confirm the film's well-earned status as the best theatrical release of last year.
Dogtooth has some definite surprises in it, and it does a terrific job of unfolding the story at an interesting and surprising pace so that nothing is over-explained.
A perversely comic allegory of family life -- sinister, strange, formally elegant and utterly original.
The nastiest satire released to U.S. theaters in 2010.
Shocking and unsettling in breaking a number social taboos, this Greek dark comedy, winner of the 2009 Cannes Film fest, centers on the kind of dysfunctional family seldom depicted with such clarity on screen.
One of those movies that seems less interested in what you feel while you're watching it than how much you have to chew on once it's over.
Audience Reviews for Dogtooth (Kynodontas)
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Mother: The new words of the day are: "Sea", "Highway", "Road trip" and "Shotgun".
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- Father: Soon your mother will give birth to two children and a dog.
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Latest News on Dogtooth (Kynodontas)
March 9, 2011:
Dogtooth Director Talks "Darker" Follow-UpDid you love "Dogtooth"? Good news: director Yorgos Lanthimos plans to get "darker" and "more...
June 25, 2010:
Critics Consensus: Grown Ups Is JuvenileThis week at the movies, we've got puerile parenting (Grown Ups, starring Adam Sandler and Chris...
May 24, 2009:
Cannes 2009: Sidebar Awards Round-upIt's the final day of the Cannes Film Festival today, and following yesterday's announcement of the...
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Foreign Titles
- Dogtooth (DE)
- Canine (FR)
Dogtooth is a film that will certainly make you say, "What the fuck." This is also a movie that I can see a lot of people turning off about five minutes in. It's a quiet, disturbing, slow film. There's also a lot of moments when I just didn't want to be watching what I was watching. It's just too weird to think about in spots, especially the sexual stuff between siblings. It's not a movie that will entertain you and you are sure to have zero fun while watching it, but it is extremely interesting if disgusting, creepy, disturbing, and repulsive. I watched the whole thing, and I'll say it is a well developed and made movie. I still didn't like it much.
The movie centers around a family of five living outside of the city. This family isn't normal. The parents keep their kids(a son and two daughters) at home all the time. They don't ever go out. They're home-schooled, except they're lied to. The parents tell them the wrong meanings of words, and protect them from things. Then again they'll tell the siblings that a cat is the most dangerous animal around and could eat them. It may sound funny, but watching this movie is a disturbing ordeal. Still, I watched with my eyes glued to the tv. Why? I don't really know, it's just one of those things I couldn't stop watching.
The movie is really scary to think about and although it is a drama, it has a terrifying plot. To think of parents actually doing this to their kids is scary to think about. There are parts where it seems like the parents are almost sadistic in their approach to their kids. Are they though? Or maybe they think this is actually what's best for them. Maybe they think they truly are protecting their kids from the dangers of the real world. That delusion will be shattered. The ending will truly mess with you. It certainly did me.
I'm giving this a favorable review because it did exactly what the director set out to do. In all honesty, it deserves five stars because it is absolutely perfect at evoking the feelings it tries to evoke. I just can't give it anymore because I am so repulsed. Damn, this doesn't happen to me often, but this one did it. I have to respect it for that. Truly disturbing.