CARNIVORE
A down on his luck Mutt gets what he thinks is a lucky break only to find himself fighting for his life.
Darkness. An occasional gruff bark. A door opens. The sharp contrast between the bleached sunlight of the San Fernando Valley and the dank concrete interior of the prison is blinding.
This is a no nonsense kill shelter in North Hollywood. A mortal ticking clock for each of the canine prisoners. It’s the end of the line. DEATH ROW.
The Prisoners are made up of many different breeds. In one cell - a pure bred howls against the humiliation and injustice of being locked up merely for misplacing his ID. His unseen cell neighbor silences him with a snarl.
BERNIE – an inveterate con artist mutt with a terrier’s sideburns, sees the light, and the unlocked exit -
-- He’s outta here.
BERNIE MUTT
Adios Suckers.
A mastiff named MASSIVE talks out the side of his mouth.
MASSIVE
Never trust a mutt who chews extension cords.
Massive smirks across the aisle to a part German Shepherd mutt; we’ll call him THEO, who watches warily from the far end while other prisoners argue about whether to also seize the opportunity and make a run for it. Who would pass up such a chance to escape?
Theo is barely an adult, but he’s seen a few things. His eyes speak to that. He’s guarded, but not aggressive or jumpy.
Other dogs sniff cautiously then follow Bernie’s lead.
Theo joins and rushes for the exit…FREEDOM!
Then pulls up short.
Outside is a Truck, engine idling. It’s back down, inviting the wannabe escapees to enter.
Bernie smells a rat. (Little known fact - rats have terrible body odor and the one passing Bernie has particularly smelly pits).
This is a recruitment drive. No way is he joining up. He starts digging beneath the fence and suggests Theo start helping. But Theo is intrigued.
3 dogs jump into the back: A Staffordshire named TYSON, MASSIVE, and a Shar Pei - TOODLES. They’re elated. Joining up is a way of escape for them. A chance to get out and see the world and avoid the fate of Jail time.
Theo realizes he has to act fast. He answers their call to climb aboard and leaps in.
Bernie shakes his head. That is one bad idea for a mutt like Theo. He’s got no business joining up. The pup’s on his own.
Inside the darkness of the departing truck, The 4 dogs celebrate. Jumping up at each other. They’ve cheated death! They’re free!
The glimpse of a chain link fence perimeter and sound of a heavy metal door clanking open.
The back doors re-open to reveal:
A compound of some kind. This is East LA where the subdivisions meet the desert.
To Theo and the others there looks to be loads of amenities. This place seems pretty cushy. They’ve lucked out.
The compound has a corrugated iron barrio maze-like quality. To the new recruits like Massive, it looks like a FUNPLEX; trees for shade, tidy barrack-like kennels freshly hosed.
But to us hind-leg viewers it bears all the hallmarks of a MILITARY TRAINING CAMP.
The place looks to be deserted. It’s all theirs. (But this is a strange eerie environment. Sounds off camera; a sense of being watched).
They’re corralled into a bare room. 4 bowls full of chow are on the floor.
Theo drops his guard: This place is alright after all.
They are all ravenous.
TYSON
Food’s good.
They eat until they feel ill.
Toodles throws up on the floor. He shrugs.
TOODLES
So nice I’ll eat it twice…
And then a door opens revealing EL CANON. The mood abruptly changes.
El Canon, a battle-scarred and tattooed Chamuco pitbull stalks in. Behind him are two equally scarred American Pitbulls – SMITH & WESSON; his underdogs.
The new dogs – hereon referred to as FNH’s (Fucking new hounds) - are assessed in a classic boot camp scene.
This scene in A Prayer Before Dawn will give you the gist:
And then two of the FNH’s – The Staff and Massive — are ordered to fight.
They look bewildered. Why would they do that? Until Smith and Wesson start biting.
They’re forced into a face off and Massive attacks half-heartedly, but Tyson shows his belly, submissive. He doesn’t want to fight.
A door opens up and El Canon gestures with his snout, disgusted.
Tyson doesn’t need to be told twice and high tails it out the room. Then a GUN SHOT. o.s.
So that’s how it is. Fight or die.
Theo’s reality comes crashing home. He’s joined a pack of hounds. And this is basic training.
Toodles leaks a yellow puddle and turns to Smith. I need to talk to the owner, manager, whoever’s in charge. I’m not the right fit for this operation. I’m just supposed to be on some old lady’s lap, you know?” Sure Smith will take him right to the CO. No problem. In fact let’s call his secretary to set up an appointment, Smith says as he leads Toodles away.
El Canon turns to Theo.
EL CANON
You want out too?
Theo swallows. Shakes his head.
EL CANON
Good. Welcome to basic training. Get you’re ass moving.
Theo is shaved and de-loused by machines. Then he’s led outside.
A field of Barrel drums lying on their side, like a row of Barrack buildings.
Theo is assigned his own barrel.
This field is full of dogs. RECRUITS.
Theo is now among more hard-bitten and experienced dogs. They sneer and snarl at him. His neighbor moves barrels so that he’s not sleeping next to the FNH.
And El Canon is the most experienced of all.
Bones are distributed throughout the barracks. The sound of teeth sharpening and the tearing of flesh from bone. The FNH’s go hungry.
Night falls on the barracks. Theo lies awake - the sound of snoring throughout.
At first roll call El Canon introduces himself as a veteran of multiple deployments.
What he tells them is that they are here to face the threat from outside. The threat of the enemy pack. It is kill or be killed. He is there to ensure they succeed at the former and avoid the latter.
El Canon talks about past battles - where he was always outnumbered. Expect nothing more and you may survive.
EL CANON
There’s one thing that you all share. Fear. Fear that you cannot fight. But I will train you to fight regardless of how afraid you are. Because remember, Everyone’s afraid. And the one’s that aren’t. They get killed. All of you are Wolves!
Theo looks down the line.
Training begins.
They train on tread mills.
They sing in unison as they run.
Theo doesn’t get the commands at the beginning. Struggles to keep up.
They run in circles chasing a cat in a box. The cat taunts them. He’s a weary cynical veteran of this training camp.
At night the other dogs make remarks about Theo’s fate. As if to spook him.
There’s one hound who is a natural born killer. Even El Canon is wary. His name is BRUTUS.
The next day Brutus is in training and wipes the floor with the others. No one dares challenge his strength. He belittles the other dogs. Something stirs in Theo.
Theo steps forward and challenges.
Theo faces off against seemingly impossible odds and pulls a weight in a race against Brutus. He who loses risks being crushed by the opposing weight.
And by sheer force of will Theo is victor. Much to the amazement and respect of the pack. But in order to win he must learn the nature of aggression.
Brutus skulks away, remarking that nothing’s going to alter Theo’s role in the war.
BRUTUS
That’s right killer. You got no idea the combat facing you.
El Canon looks on with a hint of emotion.
As the sun goes down - Theo is summoned to El Canon’s shelter.
El Canon instructs him to enter and Theo shuffles quietly in, shy and apologetic for disturbing his space.
El Canon and tells him to sit down. Theo glances around, studying and sniffing every nook and cranny and every object in the space.
El Canon congratulates him on dominating Brutus. No mean feat for a mutt like him. Must have taken a lot of guts.
Theo is quietly elated to be praised. But that’s when El Canon tells him he doesn’t think he is cut out to be a soldier. And so it’s perhaps better that Theo leaves training. He can help him get out. Under the fence.
Theo licks his lips and sits there. He quietly stated that he knows the others would be risking their lives soon in combat and that he wants to be with them and would do anything he could to help them.
El Canon realizes that for all his awkwardness and pup-like qualities, Theo shows more compassion for his fellow-soldiers than they have shown him.
Here was Theo, a stray shunned by the rest of society, and, in the end, he turns out to have more heart and guts than most.
El Canon is clearly conflicted. But then stands straight, tail taught, and tells him, should the day ever come when, Dog Forbid, I have to send you into battle, it would be an honor to fight alongside you.
Theo smiles for the first time, and tears well up in the corners of his eyes. He quietly gets up and cocks his leg in an awkward manner. El Canon cocks his leg back, then tells Theo he has something for him.
Theo is tossed his own bone. El Canon watches him leave. A sadness behind his scarred eyes.
Bone in mouth, back outside his shelter, Theo looks around and feels part of the pack. Like sharing cigarettes outside the barracks, the pack devour the pile of distributed bones.
A radio plays inside the compound —
One of the pack – DOZER – who’s always taking a nap, sleeps in the setting sun. No flies on me.
As the sun sets, along with the chewing of flesh from bone, some of the pack lick old wounds clean. (or do dog-like equivalent of preparing for battle).
Some hounds emerge showing off fresh tattoos.
Then the radio is abruptly shut off.
Dozer opens his eyes and slowly raises his head.
Sounds of gates unlocking and opening one-by-one, getting louder and closer.
First time we’ve seen Dozer on his feet, alert.
DOZER
We’re being deployed!!!!
El Canon starts barking for them to get up and ready. Others start barking.
Names are called, including Theo.
The selected are called up and out into the back of a van.
As it speeds away we see those not selected, left behind watching, including Massive. The gates close on their faces.
The back of the van is dark. The rattle and hum of the leaking van engine in the half-light. Those who have seen combat before psyche themselves up. But you can tell they’re apprehensive. Theo is the greenest of all.
As the gears shift and the van accelerates. El Canon walks the line.
EL CANON
You hounds are going into battle, and it’s not a pretty thing. And if an enemy mutt takes down one of your buddies, a fellow fighting hound, you are going to risk your life and go in and get that hound and you are going to bring him out. Not because I said so. No! You are going after that hound because you are a hound, and that hound out there who’s gone down is a hound, and he’s your buddy. He is your brother! Your sister! Once you are a hound, you are always a hound and you will never let another hound down.
Theo looks around. His eyes betraying his nerves. All of the hounds are head down except Brutus.
Brutus has very clear cobalt-blue eyes. There’s unusual beauty in those eyes, but he gives Theo this look that penetrates to the core of his being. It’s the icy look of absolute contempt and savagery.
Build the deployment intensity in a way that these dogs are anticipating battle.
In back of vehicle they are like soldiers about to drop from a plane. They line up, tails wagging like rotor blades, gunning for the exit.
The doors open and they’re out –
Into the CHAOS.
Entering an underground parking lot we emphasize all of the sounds of war. Gunfire, dogs ‘shouting’. It’s a war zone.
We track fluidly with Theo and in background in the abstract half-light fights to the death are playing out.
Our hounds lay eyes for the first time on their enemy.
And to Theo’s bewilderment. This is no foreign enemy. Just another pack of hounds.
THEO
They look just like us.
Brutus tells him to shut it.
El Canon steps forward. He is the first to face combat.
Without looking back he enters the ring.
And then something totally unexpected happens.
All eyes turn to Theo.
BRUTUS
You too. Bait dog. In you go.
Theo realizes to his horror that he is merely the bait dog. That’s all he ever was.
He has no choice but to enter.
The two dogs face off in the chaos of sound.
And then El Cannon does what no one expects him to do.
EL CANNON
“No Mas”.
He refuses to fight Theo. Instead he turns his back.
He knows the consequences. The door opens and he takes the exit.
Theo is frozen to the spot.
But before the expected gunshot rings out…there is shouting from outside, then sirens. The parking lot is being raided.
We track around Theo as the entire war zone evaporates. Hounds fleeing into the night or the bright lights of the cop cars.
Theo starts to run. But is quickly surrounded. Police dogs encircle him. His lip curls in anger and fear. An animal trained to fight back and kill. He’s a danger to society. The question is - what is his next move?
This is a story of what it means to be a young man, trained to be a soldier. To be taught to fight and kill at all costs and follow all orders, but then expected to return to a civilized society.
