Zoo (2007)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Robinson Devor

Writers:

Robinson Devor (writer)
Charles Mudede (writer)

Release Date:

30 May 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

We are not who we appear to be.

Plot:

A look at the life of a Seattle man who died as a result of an unusual encounter with a horse. |

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Small Town | Male Full Frontal Nudity | Reenactment | Disturbing

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Coyote	...	Himself
Jenny Edwards	...	Herself
John Edwards	...	Himself
John Paulsen	...	Mr. Hands
Ron Carrier	...	The Happy Horseman
Russell Hodgkinson	...	H
Tom Gormally	...	The Polishman
Forest Fousel	...	Capitol Hill man (as Forest L. Fousel)
Brad Harrington	...	Bremerton man
Andrew Scott McIntyre	...	Military man (as Andrew McIntyre)
Richard Carmen	...	Mr. Hands' brother
Ken Kreps	...	Mr. Hand's father
Malayka Gormally	...	Mr. Hands' wife
Conor Gormally	...	Mr. Hands' son
Robert Padilla	...	The rancher

Runtime:

USA:80 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Trivia:

The horse performer in this movie was a Thoroughbred mare named 'Somebodys Baby', and is a former successful racehorse. The horse in the incident portrayed was in reality an Arabian stallion.

unintentionally funny

It's as if the creators of Zoo attempted to legitimize bestiality by depicting it as some sort of mystical nature-bonding experience.

Actors portray the story of the events leading up to and following Kenneth Pinyan's death, as snippets from interviews with those involved are used to narrate.

The film has a surreal, dark feel accomplished by the use of abstract camera work, dim lighting, and a soundtrack that sounds like it was produced by Boards of Canada. Though these techniques produce a somewhat interesting aesthetic for the film, they feel like a feeble attempt to mystify or romanticize the world of horse f*cking.

Despite the film's attempts to create a surreal, brooding atmosphere and the grizzly facts of the story, the absurdity of the film's subject matter is at times laughably funny. In one memorable scene, news helicopters circle the farm of two Zoophiles. Knowing the gig is up, one man grabs a bucket of horse porn and runs frantically into the horizon. I nearly fell off the couch laughing.