Directed by Anne-Sophie Bine and written by Ari Jacobson, dark comedy DOG LOVER is a slice-of-life look into the marriage of Walter and Sarah played by Paul Hungerford and Gaby Santinelli respectively.

Walter is unhappy with his dull marriage. He feels that he can’t satisfy his wife’s wants and needs sexually, until he finds out her kink. She likes it when Walter acts like a dog.

The opening scene sets the tone for the movie, with a fun reveal and a great bit of acting from both Hungerford and Santinelli.

Shot a little on the dark side, a lot of the characters appear to be hidden in shadow a lot in the film. This looks like a purposeful choice for the look of the film, trying to match the tone, but it’s a little hard to really read all the actor’s expressions. It might play better on a big screen, but not so much on a computer monitor or TV.

The sound mix is great, and the pacing is fast for this fourteen-minute foray into marital strife. The movie could use a little more in the way of incidental music, as it just felt a little too quiet at times, but when the music does come in, it feels impactful.

The movie does something interesting where the husband doesn’t so much kink-shame the wife, but vents his frustration about their marriage, eventually settling on a life with his wife that makes her happy and satisfies his need for her love and affection.

DOG LOVER does dark comedy correctly. It has a sinister bite to it that, by the time you get to the end, you feel a weight lifted off you that you didn’t realize was present.