Day of the Animals (1977)

Director:

William Girdler

Writers:

Edward L. Montoro (story)
Eleanor E. Norton (writer)

Release Date:

13 May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A shocking vision of things to come...

Plot:

A battle for survival as hikers encounter a chemically imbalanced forest.

Plot Keywords:

Survival | Helicopter | Ozone Layer | Sheriff | Wolf

Cast

Christopher George	...	Steve Buckner
Leslie Nielsen	...	Paul Jenson
Lynda Day George	...	Terry Marsh
Richard Jaeckel	...	Prof. Taylor MacGregor
Michael Ansara	...	Daniel Santee
Ruth Roman	...	Mrs. Shirley Goodwyn
Jon Cedar	...	Frank Young
Paul Mantee	...	Roy Moore
Walter Barnes	...	Ranger Tucker
Andrew Stevens	...	Bob Denning
Susan Backlinie	...	Mandy Young
Kathleen Bracken	...	Beth Hughes
Bobby Porter	...	John Goodwyn
Michelle Stacy	...	Little Girl
Michael Andreas	...	Sheriff

Also Known As:

Something Is Out There

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Film Ventures International (FVI)

Trivia:

The "grizzly bear" that Leslie Nielsen fights is actually a docile honey bear.

Quotes:

Paul Jenson: If there's a God left up there to believe in. My father who art in heaven you've a made a jack ass out of me for years. Neville's God, that's the God I believe in! You see what you want you take. You take it! And I am going to do just that!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Something Was Out There (2006) (V)

Leslie put the rug down and come over here.

Day of the Animals: 4/10: Filmed in glare-o-vision (either to emulate a world without ozone or to give me a headache) Day of the Animals ask what if all the animals went crazy and decided to work together to kill B-movie actors. Hmm.

Unlike most nature gone wild movies that focus on one deadly animal (snakes, spiders, small dogs wearing the cutest rat outfits.) Day of the Animals, like its predecessor Frogs, throws every living creature at the cast. (Though in Day of the Animals defense unlike Frogs it at least sticks to animals, no one gets killed by the Spanish moss.)

It doesn't work. It really doesn't work. The animal attacks are laughable. Rats and snakes on fishing lines are thrown at actors. A shirtless Leslie Nielson who gets attacked by a bear rug in a scene right out of that killer carpet movie The Creeping Terror. And, most laughably, the so called attacking dogs. Whom are downright lovable complete with wagging tails. (I've seen Benji look fiercer than those German shepherds whom looked every bit like they were chasing a miniature chuck wagon.)

As for the acting, well you get a shirtless Leslie Nielson hamming it up (years before he did Airplane and "went" into comedy) and Jon Cedar channeling a third rate William Shatner singing Barry Manilow (you won't be able to get that Mandy tune out of your head.)

The film in fact has plenty of cannon fodder (even that old comedic and anti-Semitic stand-by the overprotective Jewish mother played by Ruth Roman like she was directed by Leni Riefenstahl). It even has the Poseidon Adventure scene when one pig-headed group splits off from the other.

Day of the Animals also has the worst DVD transfer ever. A third rate pan and scan picture and no chapters or even a title screen. And unlike its companion piece Grizzly it needed a good transfer. After all it's filmed in glare-o-vision.