DAY OF THE ANIMALS

US, 1976, 99 minutes, Colour.
Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Lynda Day-George?, Richard Jaeckel, Ruth Roman.
Directed by William Girdler.

The Day of the Animals shows how Hollywood's discovery of ecology coincides with the animal menace trend and the Grizzly team have gone back into the forests giving us an "animals wreaking mayhem on humans" warning about polluting the atmosphere? It is quite gripping in its way, illustrating well how the audience's imagination, when confronted by subjective shots, cunning editing and an atmospheric score, supplies most of the fear and terror. But there are plenty of shocks and gory sequences as well. The outdoor forest photography and the animal shots are excellent - only a few studio effects are weak. Predictable characters and emotional conflicts abound. If you don't like scary animal shows, stay with "talkback" programmes for ecology.

1. A good thriller? Indication of the title, expectations and fulfilment? The trend for animal menace and thrillers in the 70s? An original film, derivative?

2. The moralising purpose? The introduction about ozone and aerosols? The warning? The warning by fright? Did it exploit its fright and horror? Could people learn from such a film parable?

3. Colour, music and the atmosphere of fear? Animal photography and location photography and its beauty? The contrast with the studio work, e.g. Mandy's fall and its artificiality, the final storm? An atmosphere of credibility
and reality?

4. The basic situation, the safari, no food or weapons, the holiday atmosphere, exercise? A praiseworthy situation? Why were these people victims of the mutation in nature?

5. The expected group of assorted people, an appropriate cross-section, the variety of attitudes, men and women, young and old? The various types appropriate for this kind of adventure and moral fable?

6. The initial presentation of the eagles, the gradual build-up of the animals, the skill in the photography of the animals, their various looks and poses, the importance of the editing and the suggestion by juxtaposition of images without showing animal savagery? The atmospheric musical combined with the editing and the audience supplying its own fear and terror? An effective thriller by technique?

7. The build-up of the warnings, the explanation of the ozone situation, the move towards evacuation, the radio reports and the group not hearing them properly? The audience knowing all this? Seeing the police, the policeman woken up in the middle of the night and his experience of the rats? As background for the terrors of the safari group?

8. The gradual build-up of suspense and the introduction of animal savagery? The eagle swooping on the boy? The number of birds present and ominously watching? Mandy and her being mauled? The build-up to her death? The terror for her husband and his finding the child? The build-up to the group and the men being attacked by the wolves?

9. The balance of the human interaction and something of its savagery along with the animal interaction? Chris as a personable leader, his skill, control, exercise of leadership? His treatment of the various people? His interest in the reporter and questioning about her approach to life? The professor and his knowledge and enjoyment of the safari? The Indian and his awareness of the forest, his friendship with the boy? The mother and her taking her son on safari, her protectiveness, her wishing she was back in Beverley Hills, her bitching? The young couple, the athlete with cancer, the reporter and her attractiveness? The advertising man and his arrogance, brutality, pride? How inevitable were the clashes? The building up of tensions? Their finding their camps destroyed and no food? Coping with these situations? Night-guarding against the animals and their attacks? Mutual blame? The advertising man and his attack on Chris as leader as a hot-shot etc.?

10. How did the film build up to the decision for the groups to divide? Audience interest in three groups? The background of the evacuation? Mutual intercrossing and building up of tension, the knowledge of what the animals were doing? One group going higher and into danger, the other group going lower?

11. Audience interest in the man and the little girl, their dangers, eventually finding the town, the fright of the snakes, the threat of the dogs, the little girl in the car, the unexpected death of the man by the snakes? Audience identification with this?

12. The group moving towards the helicopter and the growing brutality, the hardships in the rain, the advertising man affected by the ozone, the heat, his brutality and attempted rape? The effect on all of them? His killing the young man, the mother and the son and their fear and the mother's attempting to kill the man? Their escaping finally into the helicopter after the advertising man is crushed by the bear? Why were mother, son and girl saved?

13. The prudent group going down and their surviving on the way down? The cave and the rain? The cabins and the attacks of the dogs and the death of the professor and the athlete? The philosophising between them that had preceded this? The escape onto the raft and survival?

14. Audience relief when the situation passed and safety was for those who survived? The finding of the little girl, of the raft?


15. How valuable this kind of moral ecology fable, warning? Was the film good of its kind?