DAY
OF THE ANIMALS (1977)Director: William Girdler
Shriek Show/Media Blasters
DAY
OF THE ANIMALS (1977)Long a subject
of terror and awe, nature hasn’t lost its primal relationship to the honest
savagery of existence. As such, wild animals have long been utilized as figures
of literary and cinematic terror. Frightening and fascinating, denizens of mountain
and forests embody freedom, lack of conscience, and the blind observance to
instinct that moralizing humanity lacks. While this instinct at first promises
a freedom of action, it threatens with consequence, forcing us to face a savage
darkness that we’re unprepared for when furry friends become fanged fiends.
Possessing natural
weapons of agility, speed, and strength there is little more frightening to
the human mind than fangs glistening in the moonlight. The great storytellers
know this. From ancient Shaman spinning dark miracles by starlight, scaring
the tribe with fearsome fables of rendering teeth and gripping claws, to modern
filmmakers casting cinematic nightmares in blood red celluloid, people whose
job it is to inspire fear have long turned to Mother Nature’s terrible
offspring. A staple of budget horror/exploitation, these subjects are easily
assessable, universal stock figures that arouse instant recognition and exploitative
response in an audience. As such, nature-run-amuck pictures have proved both
profitable and aesthetically pleasing. A specialty of this sub-genre, “animals
on the attack” films represent nature as unstoppable instruments of carnage
and death, embodying not only the surface threat of literally dangerous creatures
but also the chaotic power and untamable characteristics of Nature itself. Perhaps
no one knew this better, and used it to such exploitative effect, than William
Girdler, the consummate low budget, big ideas filmmaker par excellence.
A
poet of poverty productions, Girdler was an undeniably effective showman. Accomplishing
more with a few dollars than most studios could with millions, his lack of funding,
small prep times, and threadbare stories did little to hamper the creative spirit,
surprising polish, or ambition of his work. Pretending to be nothing else than
what he was, Girdler wore his Exploitation moniker with pride. He was in the
business to make movies that entertained, films that provoked shock, suspense,
and laughter – not subtle documents of characterization. Yet his action
riddled, hair-raising spectacles often reflect serious themes amidst mayhem,
poignant philosophical questionings of law, justice, and order. Nowhere is this
more apparent, or more entertaining, than in DAY OF THE ANIMALS, a follow up
to Media Blasters release of GRIZZLY, his first JAWS-on-land spectacle. 
William Girdler was just as effective a thinker as he was a cinematic terrorist, and his ability to combine terrifying scares with reflective and discomforting subtext is exhibited with gusto in DAY OF THE ANIMALS. He uses jarring images of suspense to shock us into reaction. He also makes us think. This movie is impossible to watch without considering the themes underlying break-neck action. Beneath the bared-fang hysterics of a world turned upside down by a reverse (or is that a return of?) the natural order, where man stops heading the food chain and becomes its nourishment, throbs a condemnation of cultural waste, arrogance, and social prejudice.
When
the depletion of the ozone layer turns animals living above the altitude of
5000 feet violent and aggressive, they turn on mankind. A group of mostly yuppie
holiday hikers, led by the always reliable Christopher George, find themselves
caught in the wilderness with deadly wolves, hawks, snakes, bears, and worse
of all . . . each other! As townspeople below the mountain struggle to flee
from poisonous snakes, wolves, dogs, and other vermin, the lonely pack of befuddled,
hungry, and weak campers struggle to stay alive, and from killing one another.
Journeying towards what they hope is a safe haven, these people from very different
walks of life must also face the cruel realities of their own instincts as the
group slits into factions. This deadly serious, realistically acted, and beautifully
shot film is an attack against self-satisfied civilization; it is just as much
an attack against stereotypes, revealing how thin is the polite skin of respectability
and politeness which separates us from each other and the raw animalism of our
true nature. 
Chaos breeds among the initially playful group soon as the societal conventions – and a law which they have depended on since birth to define their world – is replaced by a return to the law of strength. This theme is emphasized when, falling victim to the same toxins that has transformed the animals, a male member of the party allows what little civility he has to slip away. Murdering one of his companions, raping his woman, this fellow then decides to go man-to-beast against a huge bear. Guess who wins? The fact that this man has gone insane enough to face such a monster with his bare hands lends this scene undeniable power. A metaphor, his character is society – barely restrained, rude, and obnoxious. It's disturbing to see how very little it takes for him to become as bad (if not worse) than the blood-hungry wildlife.
Girdler’s
direction and a commendable script evoke screams and empathy. We care about
these people. Fine performances are gleaned by Michael Ansara, the always beautiful
Lynda Day George, and Richard Jaeckel, each of which play their naturalistic
parts to rustic perfection. An over-the-top serious performance from “Naked
Gun” star Leslie Nielsen (he wrestles a man in a grizzly suit!) is the
most memorable here, and good support is given by Ruth Roman, Paul Mantee, Jon
Cedar, Andrew Stevens and Bobby Porter (Cornelius in BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF
THE APES). Here men and women who deserve better plead, kill and die for a mercy
lacking in uncaring nature. Revealing at once both what is best and worst in
our species by showing it pitted against its own dark savagery as well as a
viscous natural world, our cast of heroes fall to stony deaths, are tore open,
devoured, pinned, and brutalized. They are also heroic, tender, and easy to
sympathize with (if not always likeable). 
Media Blasters offers two separate transfers of the film (both with unfortunate drawbacks), which are reason enough to celebrate considering the previous barebones VHS and DVD editions. The theatrical version, bearing the title SOMETHING IS OUT THERE, is the decidedly inferior of the two, but it at least presents the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. Culled from a well worn 35mm print source, it often has faded colors, lines, scratches, messy reel changes and an exchange of dialogue missing around the 32:59 mark. The mono audio has low dialog and is scratchy with continual hiss. The television print carries the familiar title, but presents it in a cropped 1.78:1 anamorphic ratio. Although some grain and surface scratching occasionally mars the picture, the general quality is fine. Slight blemishes irritate but do little to distract. Colors are adequate if leaning towards the soft side, while decently evoking the lush outdoors photography. English Dolby sound is adequate, and a Spanish language track is also included. Besides this difference in quality and the missing/damaged dialogue from the theatrical version, there appears to be no significant differences in terms of content.
The
television print of the film includes a commentary with Lynda Day George, Jon
Ceder, and, oddly enough, producer Scott Spiegal – oddly because he had
no connection to the film. Perhaps his fondness for the feature propelled him
to weigh in on it. Moderated by Walter Olsen, this commentary is insightful,
with each personality showing their distinct characteristics, loves, and prejudices
in a lively, four-way discussion that covers everything from Toby the bear and
the crew’s fights with locals during filming, and such wide-ranging memories
as Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin in DEATH HUNT, and Billy Girdler’s love
for Tony Curtis as an actor. A featurette entitled “Something Was Out
There: Day of the Animals 30 Years Later” contains interviews with actors
John Cedar, Paul Mantee and actress/animal trainer Susan Backlinie. It covers
everything from limitations to budget to personal demands, to working with the
other actors. Of most interest are observations made by actors about themselves,
wondering aloud about the quality of their performances and the movie as a whole.
Along the way we hear about the importance of sound when making the wildlife
sound threatening, and, on a lighter side, how the animals were often anything
but savage. Discussing in-depth the production of the movie, human emotion is
emphasized by heart-wrenching remembrances of Girdler. Personable, lively, and
often funny, these interviews are a fitting testament to one of our great if
short lived filmmakers. An original trailer and a still gallery round out the
extras. (William
P. Simmons)