Appalachian Dog Review: Can You Go Home Again?
Streaming Movie Review - Drama/LGBTQ - Tubi/VOD
The saying, “You can never go home again,” applies to many experiences, but very notably to those returning home from war. Appalachian Dog, now free on Tubi and VOD, is Colin Henning’s first feature-length film, and it examines that axiom in the context of a soldier returning to his home in Appalachia after his service in World War II.
Teddy Henry (Colin Henning) returns to his home, hoping to pick up where he left off with his wife, Marion (Georgia Morgan). Prior to his service, they had run a successful business with him as a tailor and her as a seamstress, but his time away caused a hand tremor, making it difficult for him to take up sewing again. While he was gone, Marion found help from Peggie Darrow (Hayleigh Hart Franklin), a neighbor who was able to keep the business going in Teddy’s absence. Marion also developed a closer relationship with Cate Wills (Brooke Elizabeth), whose husband Andrew (Aaron J. Stewart) was wounded in the war.
As each of these people begins the process of reintegrating back into the lives they were living before the war, the secrets they have been keeping threaten to tear them all apart.
Appalachian Dog is a beautiful film that does an impressive job with a limited budget. The moody setting in the heart of North Carolina immerses you in this southern gothic movie. Rather than relying on a traditional score, much of the film is peppered with the sounds of nature, allowing you to feel like you’re there with the characters as they live out this drama.
The movie boasts a slate of talented actors. Each character is holding on to various secrets that affect the way that they interact with others, and that sense of guardedness mixed with extreme intimacy is difficult to achieve, but this cast pulls it off. There is longing, shame, secrecy, hope, and despair in each of these people, and the small cast is able to convey that well.
There are times when the script feels like it’s holding back just a little. There are some queer undertones to the story, and while I recognize the desire to keep them from overtaking the story entirely, they feel like they could have been explored a little more thoroughly. Still, adding that element into a period piece set in Appalachia deserves acknowledgment.
What is impressive about Appalachian Dog is that it extends the idea of returning home beyond the person who is physically coming back to the rest of the characters. Teddy regularly laments the loss of his old dog, wishing things could go back to what he remembered. Teddy’s return is difficult for him, but it also destroys some of the ways that the women have created their own sense of home in his absence. Recognizing that a change of this magnitude has an impact on everyone provides a powerful backdrop for this movie and is a powerful reminder for the audience as well.
Rating: 3.5/5
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on March 22, 2025.