Dogtooth
Inside a fortified Greek villa, three adult siblings begin to question a reality manufactured by their authoritarian parents.
Overview
A disturbing exploration of family dynamics and the quest for freedom from manipulation.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- surreal
- deadpan
- paranoid
- arthouse film night
- challenging cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as startlingly original, formally controlled, and deeply disturbing, while acknowledging that its meandering provocation can alienate some viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The parents redefine ordinary words and use instructional recordings to control how the siblings understand the world.
The parents confine their adult children inside a walled villa and enforce obedience through misinformation, fear, and ritual.
The isolated luxury home is both prison and experimental environment where the siblings’ behavior is meticulously shaped.
Lanthimos uses elegant, skewed framings and controlled performances to create a surreal, clinically detached atmosphere.
Films like Dogtooth, and why
The Lobster
shared surreal domestic power structures, deadpan performances, and disturbing social satire
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
shared authoritarian family dynamics, controlled language, and psychologically unsettling formal restraint
The Exterminating Angel
shared surrealism, bourgeois repression, taboo sexuality, and darkly comic alienation
Funny Games
shared claustrophobic family abuse, unnerving realism, and institutionalized cruelty
Movie Details
- Director
- Yorgos Lanthimos
- Release Date
- 2009-10-22
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (2695)
Cast
- Christos Stergioglou
- Michele Valley
- Hristos Passalis
- Angeliki Papoulia
- Mary Tsoni
- Anna Kalaitzidou
- Steve Krikris
- Sissi Petropoulou
- Alexander Voulgaris
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Dogtooth about?
- Inside a fortified Greek villa, three adult siblings begin to question a reality manufactured by their authoritarian parents.
- What is Dogtooth like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Dogtooth as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Dogtooth violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Dogtooth as mild.
- What did critics think of Dogtooth?
- Critics broadly regard the film as startlingly original, formally controlled, and deeply disturbing, while acknowledging that its meandering provocation can alienate some viewers.
- Which films are like Dogtooth?
- Films with a similar feel include The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Exterminating Angel, and Funny Games.
- How long is Dogtooth?
- Dogtooth runs 98 minutes.
- Where can I watch Dogtooth?
- In United States, Dogtooth streams on Kino Film Collection.
