William Grindler directed a handful of trashy films during the seventies; the best I've seen being his debut 'Three on a Meathook'. Day of the Animals is a creature feature and apparently very similar to his earlier film 'Grizzly' (which I haven't seen). The film can be considered a silly seventies horror movie, and some sort of warning against global warming as apparently; aside from just warming the planet, destroying the ozone layer and causing more tax, global warming also has the capacity to send animals insane. This idea is put forward at the beginning of the movie during the prologue, but once it starts properly; we get down to the real business of the film; which is showing a bunch of people running from a variety of crazed animals, including dogs, snakes, rats and bears. We follow a group of hikers who are dropped off on a mountainside, just before the authorities realise that something is very wrong with the wildlife. Despite being away from civilisation, this message still manages to reach the hikers and soon they find themselves battling nature for survival.
This film has a really good premise and I have to say that, unfortunately, it has pretty much been wasted. The film benefits from obvious things such as the setting and the capacity for plenty of animal attack scenes, but it doesn't blend this with a constantly interesting story and most of the film involves waiting for things to happen. The film was apparently made for TV. I'm not actually sure whether it was or not, but it would make sense as the movie has all the hallmarks of a TV movie; including a lack of blood, which is a major disappointment. The cast is nothing to write home about, but there is a role for Leslie Nielsen who is undoubtedly the highlight of the film. It's not hard to see why the Zucker brothers saw his potential for comedy because even in a 'serious' role, Nielson is hilarious. In fairness to the film, it does get better as it moves along the final third actually is quite exciting; but by then, you are likely to be fairly numb from the two thirds that preceded it. Day of the Animals is not a classic seventies horror film, but it has a few memorable moments (like Leslie Nielsen battling a Grizzly Bear) and is at least worth a look.
This film has a really good premise and I have to say that, unfortunately, it has pretty much been wasted. The film benefits from obvious things such as the setting and the capacity for plenty of animal attack scenes, but it doesn't blend this with a constantly interesting story and most of the film involves waiting for things to happen. The film was apparently made for TV. I'm not actually sure whether it was or not, but it would make sense as the movie has all the hallmarks of a TV movie; including a lack of blood, which is a major disappointment. The cast is nothing to write home about, but there is a role for Leslie Nielsen who is undoubtedly the highlight of the film. It's not hard to see why the Zucker brothers saw his potential for comedy because even in a 'serious' role, Nielson is hilarious. In fairness to the film, it does get better as it moves along the final third actually is quite exciting; but by then, you are likely to be fairly numb from the two thirds that preceded it. Day of the Animals is not a classic seventies horror film, but it has a few memorable moments (like Leslie Nielsen battling a Grizzly Bear) and is at least worth a look.