I have just seen this movie at a premiere in Auckland it has a limited release coming up and I would say its worth a trip to the cinema....Its a thought provoking piece that gives you the chance to decide on the characters early on and then revisit those decisions many times over throughout....who needs Hollywood $$ this movie is well acted and even meeting the 'real' actors before the viewing didn't detract from the performance on screen.... This movie actually allows you to explore your own thoughts and reactions to events rather than moving too quickly to appreciate the dilemmas each character is facing....well paced My main concern during the film was the sound....Australian movies seem to have a 'sound' and this is no exception but the occasional 'distance' in the sound may have been the small venue we were watching in.

Though not without its faults it manages to straddle the line between caustic dark humor and edgy drama. There are many unique moments and great ideas, mixed in with some wickedly funny dialog and the kind of meanness that strikes a chord with the secret bitch inside everyone. Mostly a two-hander, Puppy takes its time unfolding. If you are expecting blood and guts horror, or chasing people up stairs and into bathrooms, then Puppy is not for you. The film is more concerned with understanding the two disconnected souls who collide and reshape each other. Nadia Townsend is a revelation as the smart mouthed, con artist Liz. Bernard Curry does an admirable, if at times slightly off-key take on the benevolent but psychotic tow truck driver Aiden. Supporting cast are adequate. With Sally Bull stealing the scenes allotted to her.

It's likely that Puppy was more ambitious than its budget allowed. Reportedly it was made for 250 grand, which is about the cost of fruit that gets wasted on the average Hollywood set. If that's true, then the film is a credit to the filmmakers and minor plotting problems and occasionally rough production values are easily forgiven.

Recommended for indie film fans. If you love predictable Hollywood films, you probably won't get Puppy. But it has to have one of the best lines in recent memory - Liz (playing with her delusional captor's mind) - "You're a psycho. I'm just @#$%ing with you."