A retired soldier and his combat dog leave their war-scarred past behind to pursue a peaceful existence in the Alaskan wilderness. But when they get stranded in the wild, they must lean on each other to survive. Heart of the Beast is often harrowing, but it tells a moving story about the bond between a man and his dog.
Two warriors venture into the Alaskan wilderness, carrying the weight of what they’ve seen, what they’ve experienced, in combat. They bear the scars of war on their bodies and their minds.
Despite their differences, the bond between these two warriors is strong, tempered in a way unique to those who have experienced the horrors of war together. Brothers-in-arms, of a sort.
One soldier walks on two legs. The other, four.
Special Forces officer James Belmont and his retired combat dog, Odin, have soared to the far reaches of this beautiful and desolate place in a pontoon plane, not seeking another fight but a chance at peace.
However, what starts as a tranquil and healing experience quickly turns harrowing when James suffers a heart attack and crashes the aircraft. James and Odin survive, but they find themselves lost in the heart of an unforgiving wilderness.
The wounded warriors’ serene escape has become their final mission: to traverse the many miles back to civilization. To endure the dangers of the wild. To survive.
Heart of the Beast highlights the bond between a man and his dog. James and Odin put their lives on the line to save one another many times throughout the film. (And, through flashbacks, we see more instances of the same sacrificial protection in their past.) But their bond is deeper than just mutual preservation: James and Odin care for each other deeply, exhibiting selflessness and patience.
Odin suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his military experiences, and James (no stranger to the effects of PTSD himself) helps Odin through those moments. He also faithfully cares for Odin’s old combat injury. Similarly, when James is distressed, Odin is there to provide comfort, and the dog’s companionship clearly means the world to James.
James wants Odin to live a peaceful retirement after the dog essentially spent his entire existence in combat service.
A note preceding the end credits states that, over the past 20 years, dogs in military service have saved thousands of lives and have subsequently found homes with loving families.
James raises a toast skyward for his fellow soldiers who died in combat and says, “Miss you boys.”
James suspects he will not survive the trek back to civilization. He preemptively writes a note to the person who may find Odin after his death, saying he’ll be waiting for the dog in the next life. It’s a sweet sentiment, though far from theologically defined. He also says that he wants his body left “at peace in the wild” and that his soul will be with his fellow soldiers who passed on before him.
James removes his shirt, which has been soaked through, revealing his muscular (and scarred) torso.
The trek back to civilization is a dangerous one for James and Odin and, as such, there’s quite a bit of wilderness peril found in Heart of the Beast.
In one harrowing scene, a pack of wolves attacks James and Odin, which results in some gnarly, bloody injuries. Animals get stabbed and impaled. James is swept down a raging river: He gets battered by the rocky riverbed and breaks his arm. We see the bone protrude from his skin, and Odin helps James painfully set the bone back in place. There is a tense standoff with an aggressive grizzly bear. James falls a few times on treacherous terrain. In one scene, he nearly drowns. Wolves kill a moose calf, tearing into the young animal with their fangs.
While flying his seaplane, James has a heart attack and crashes the plane, injuring both himself and Odin. James continues to have chest pains in times of duress throughout the film.
James is bloodied and beaten for much of the journey through the wild. Odin is injured as well, and there’s an extended sequence where it is unclear if he will survive (which could be especially difficult for dog lovers).
Someone bleeds to death.
We see flashbacks of war violence: Soldiers exchange gunfire, and some are struck with bullets. Someone is engulfed in flames. A dog is injured. (These moments are visually styled in a way which mutes some of the violence.) We hear that James and Odin’s entire squad was killed in action.
A man asks James about the injuries that Odin suffered in combat, which included a broken jaw and a partially amputated leg. James says matter-of-factly that he killed those who hurt Odin.
The s-word is used once. God’s name is misused five times, paired with “d–n.” “D–n” is used an additional six times. Other profanities include “h—,” “a–,” “a–hole,” “dumba–” and “son of a b–ch.”
James hauls a cooler of beer to a campsite. He drinks a few beers and offers one to another person (who gladly accepts). James takes pills to help with what we learn is a heart condition.
James vomits from the pain when his broken arm gets set back in place. He urinates in the woods at one point, and we see the stream.
As mentioned, both James and Odin suffer from PTSD.
A sticker for the thrash metal band Slayer is seen on one of James’ packing cases. James reads Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
Full disclosure: I love dogs, but I don’t love dog movies.
In my opinion, these kinds of films can feel a bit … emotionally manipulative. “Does the dog die?” is the question many will wonder whenever a furry, four-legged friend is a central character in a film. Many dog movies seem happy to let viewers dwell in that manufactured tension in lieu of a more substantive story.
So, does Heart of the Beast follow that one-trick trend?
Well, as a viewer, I was certainly worried about Odin’s fate. But I was concerned about James, too. The film’s focus on the love and devotion shared between James and Odin, as well as their pursuit of peace following a war-scarred life, added depth and heart to this wilderness survival pic. As a result, Heart of the Beast makes for an often harrowing, but moving, tale.
There are some content dangers in this wild, including plenty of wilderness peril, violence, some bloody images and a bit of language. And it probably goes without saying that if you’re squeamish about watching a dog in danger, this could make for difficult viewing.
But just like the Alaskan wilderness that James and Odin traverse, there’s a lot of beauty to be found here, too.
Bret loves a good story—be it a movie, show, or video game—and enjoys geeking out about things like plot and story structure. He has a blast reading and writing fiction and has penned several short stories and screenplays. He and his wife love to kayak the many beautiful Colorado lakes with their dog.
