Day of the Animals

The earth's diminishing ozone layer is affecting the animal life in a very negative way and a few hikers are in real trouble.

Well, after reading countless reviews here and elsewhere stating that the animal attacks are laughable, I find myself in the minority group that actually was quite impressed at how the filmmakers managed to pull them off. They don't occupy much of the screen time but when they happen; well, I was impressed. Bear in mind that this is a low-budget feature film from a specialized B-movie filmmaker who used his wits and drive instead of money. As such I was very impressed with the end result.

The story here ain't much to write home about. Basically the hikers gradually learn that the animals look extremely mad and before long they're fighting for their lives.

The cast is good, a nice assembly of B-movie actors; Christopher and Linda Day George are always appealing and Leslie Nielsen really chews up the scenery as the crazy ad exec who takes on a giant bear.

The film is stretched and not much happens for quite a while but it's strangely atmospheric in a way and climaxes with some impressive stand-offs against the animals (again, I believe I represent the minority here).

William Girdler was a master copycat filmmaker, taking into account what was captivating to audiences and making a film on that subject while it was still fresh. The diminishing ozone layer was a hot topic in those days and he concocted a really neat little film (which looks much more expensive than it really was with that Panavision framing and impressive cinematography) that entertains without doing too much damage to our brains.