A Boy and His Dog



A Boy and His Dog, a 1975 film, based on a short story/novella by Harlan Ellison, is a look into the life of Vic and his telepathic dog Blood as they wander a post-apocalyptic United States after World War IV, scavenging for food and looking for sex. When Vic discovers Quilla, a beautiful young woman who appears to have come from one of the last refuges of civilization, he is instantly smitten with lust and assaults her at gunpoint. Before he can do the deed, they have to defend themselves from a band of rogues - they escape and a nascent romance develops.

After much testing of mattress springs, she persuades him to come back to her home and to leave Blood behind. There, he is told that their underground society has stagnated, and their fertility rate has dropped, so they need healthy sperm donors. Despite his initial enthusiasm, Vic takes exception to their methods and escapes with Quilla's help. End of movie? No.

Something of a cult classic, it was later adapted into a graphic novel, Vic and Blood: The Continuing Adventures of a Boy and His Dog.

This movie contains examples of the following tropes:

 * A Boy and His X: Natch.
 * A Friend in Need
 * After the End
 * Anti-Hero: Vic just wants to survive and get laid. Almost anything and anyone else apart from Blood can get fucked.
 * Black Comedy:
 * Bros Before Hoes: When Blood is dying from thirst and starvation, Quilla tries to convince Vic to abandon him.  it doesn't get any more bros before hoes than that.
 * Canis Latinicus: Technically present - the dog recites Latin.
 * Crapsack World: The world above ground is a wasteland populated by sex-hungry barbarians, Vic included; "Down Under" is a Dystopian, creepy, patriarchal pastiche of The Deep South where everyone is in whiteface.
 * Creator Backlash: Harlan Ellison loved the movie except for the last minute. Ellison accused director L. Q. Jones of being a sexist redneck for approaching it as he did.
 * Deadly Euphemism: "The farm, immediately."
 * Deadpan Snarker: Blood loves to get his little digs in at Vic and his constant need for sex.
 * Eat the Dog:
 * Femme Fatale:
 * "Friend or Idol?" Decision
 * Grey and Gray Morality: Is a wasteland dweller, whose only thought at the start is getting to rape a woman before some other ones finish with her and shoot her, more or less sympathetic than an oppressive Eagle Land society that offhandedly kills people for a bad attitude? You decide.
 * Intellectual Animal: Blood is far smarter and more educated than Vic, teaching him history, keeping him out of trouble and planning tactics in a classic Brains and Brawn pairing.
 * Mars Needs Women: The underground society requires healthy sperm from surface dwellers to impregnate their women. Vic thinks he's found his dream job.
 * Mecha-Mooks: Implied. "Go and get another Michael from the warehouse."
 * Mindlink Mates
 * Near-Rape Experience: Vic; it's not for lack of trying, though.
 * The Nose Knows: Like all dogs, Blood has an excellent sense of smell. Unlike other dogs, he can count foes, pinpoint their direction and distance to the nearest metre and point this out to his partner Vic.
 * It's implied that all dogs can do this. Vic can't believe that the other raider's dog didn't smell Quilla and let him know.
 * Our Zombies Are Different: "Screamers", glow-in-the-dark, wailing zombies who only need to touch you to make you one of them. Sad that we never see them, but this troper has been told that the glowing ones from Fallout are going to be your best bet.
 * The Promised Land: The main characters are searching for a place called Over The Hill.
 * Robot Buddy: Michael, complete with Kung Fu Grip!
 * Scavenger World
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Idealism? What's that?