Review by Louis Fowler | Media Blasters | Buy from Amazon.com
Who’s ever wanted to see Leslie Nielsen shirtlessly take on an angry grizzly? Of course you have! Everyone has! You’d have to damn-near be an American-hating communist to say no.
That being said, DAY OF THE ANIMALS just might be one of the most satisfying movies ever made. A delicious slice of 70s cheese, DAY OF THE ANIMALS is the type of grainy film-stocked, ridiculously over-acted, hilariously special-effected film that I grew up watching on TV, back when UHF channels – independent, non-corporate owned – would program some of the best, long-lost schlock on weekend afternoons. Not only do I get the shirtless, bear-battling Nielsen, but also I get bloodthirsty rats, carnivorous cougars, rattlers-a-plenty and batshit dog packs, all in a tight, easy-to-maneuver 90-minute package.
What’s also amazing about DAY OF THE ANIMALS is it’s prophetic foretelling of the depletion of the ozone layer – sure, it hasn’t really caused animals to go nutso (sorry, Mr. Gore), but hey, the only other movie I see using it as a plot point is HIGHLANDER 2: THE QUICKENING, and the last time I checked, Leslie Nielsen didn’t, sans shirt, chop the head off of an immortal bear in it, so the less said, the better.
So, as I was saying, the depleting ozone causes animals, from hawks and cougars to the aforementioned grizzly to go insane on the best cast of stock actors this side of The Swarm on a routine weekend hiking getaway. This wonderful cast includes the buy-one, get-one-free duo of Christopher and Lynda Day George, THE DIRTY DOZEN’s (as well as HERBIE GOES BANANAS') Richard Jaeckel, a young Andrew Stevens (in a rare, non-simulated-humping-Shannon Tweed role) and, finally, in the requisite Shelly Winters role, Ruth Roman.
But c’mon: the real star of this show is Leslie, like you’ve never seen him before. He’s the ultimate prick: when he’s not referring to the camp guide as “Hotshot!” and bragging about how, in the city, he’s in charge of things because he’s an ad exec, he’s off punching teenagers and then raping whatever woman’s around in a fit of megalomaniacal rage in front of them – holy shit, Frank Drebin! Needless to say, it’s one his most thoroughly entertaining performances. And yes, I’m including MR. MAGOO.
Shriek Show/Media Blaster’s special edition DVD is way better than you’d expect for a movie like this, filled with commentaries and extras galore, but what sold me was that it has not only the original theatrical version, but – there is a God – the original TV print. Pop it in, grab a Fla-Vor-Ice and relieve those wonderful UHF memories.
