Like Dogs (2021) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Like Dogs takes place in a university-affiliated research facility called the East Wing Kennels, a grim containment facility where captives are kept in concrete kennel blocks. The space is designed to look like an animal research lab, with dog beds, water bottles, and remote-controlled choke collars, blending clinical research with detention.

• setting
• location
• facility
• kennel
• university research facility

The East Wing Kennels is the main setting of the film, consisting of concrete kennel blocks where Lisa is held captive. It features gurneys, animal water bottles, and remote-controlled choke collars, creating a brutal clinical environment designed to dehumanize the prisoners while maintaining the appearance of scientific research.

• east wing
• kennel
• facility
• containment
• prison

Like Dogs explores three major themes: Control, which centers on dehumanization and the deliberate erosion of autonomy through restraints and punishments; Reality vs Illusion, which examines how drugging and staged experiences blur the line between what's real and manufactured; and Resistance, which follows the protagonists' struggle to reclaim agency and break free from the system.

• themes
• control
• reality
• illusion
• resistance
• dehumanization

The Control theme in Like Dogs refers to the deliberate dehumanization of captives through a pseudo-scientific experiment. The facility uses restraints, remote-controlled choke collars, and punishments to enforce obedience and break the prisoners' will. The project is framed as research but relies on cruelty and manipulation to maintain power over the captives.

• control
• captivity
• dehumanization
• power
• experiment

Lisa is the protagonist of Like Dogs, a young woman abducted off the street and kept in the facility's kennel block. She becomes the 'alpha' among the captives, learning to read situations and manipulate her environment to survive. Over the course of the film, she transforms from passive compliance into a strategic resister who uses the project's own tools against her captors.

• lisa
• protagonist
• main character
• captive
• alpha

George is the manipulative operator who runs the experiment at the facility. He drugs the captives, disables cameras to hide his actions, and tests their psychological responses. He exercises control through fear and uses Lisa's own memories against her, revealing hidden past interactions and exposing coercive power dynamics, including sexual assault.

• george
• antagonist
• operator
• experimenter
• villain

Adam is a long-time captive who shares the kennels with Lisa and bears the marks of repeated restraint. He initially helps hatch an escape plan, though their freedom is limited by the collars and the illusion that escape is possible. His alliance with Lisa reveals a desperate, pragmatic side willing to risk everything for survival.

• adam
• captive
• prisoner
• ally
• escape

Erika is initially a captive who becomes suspicious of George's actions and transforms into a crucial ally to Lisa. She helps uncover the truth about the experiment, warns Lisa about the doctor's manipulations, and joins the escape attempt. The ending shows the risks of surviving as the facility goes up in flames.

• erika
• ally
• helper
• captive
• escape

The Reality vs Illusion theme in Like Dogs explores how drugging and staged experiences blur the boundary between what's real and what's manufactured. Lisa's sense of escape is manipulated, and she discovers that 'alpha' dynamics were part of the experiment, not genuine. A major twist reveals that past interactions with George were hidden as hallucinations, making memory itself a weapon used against the captives.

• reality
• illusion
• hallucination
• drugging
• manipulation
• twist

Like Dogs depicts a cold, monitored world where a university research facility conducts a sanctioned but cruel experiment on humans. The environment relies on constant surveillance and routine interventions to maintain power over prisoners. Beyond the kennels, spaces like the yard and freezer area extend the facility's control, emphasizing dehumanization as a core part of the story's world.

• world
• setting
• environment
• surveillance
• facility
• control

Dr. Fischer is a higher-up overseeing the project in Like Dogs, showing a callous disregard for consent and proper documentation. She is confronted by Lisa about missing paperwork, and meets a violent end when Lisa asserts control over her own body and the experiment's ethics, killing the doctor as part of her resistance.

• dr fischer
• doctor
• authority
• project
• oversight

In Like Dogs, resistance takes the form of Lisa and Adam formulating an escape strategy to dismantle the system from within. They form a risky alliance, confront guards, and use improvised tools to break free. The escape culminates in a confrontation with George, aided by Erika, resulting in a fatal turn for the antagonist. Lisa ultimately reclaims her agency by leaving the facility and redefining her identity.

• resistance
• escape
• freedom
• rebellion
• breaking free