Day Of The Animals
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''Day of the Animals'' (re-released as ''Something Is Out There'') is a 1977 American
natural horror Natural horror is a subgenre of horror films that features natural forces, typically in the form of animals or plants, that pose a threat to human characters. Though killer animals in film have existed since the release of '' The Lost World'' in ...
film directed by
William Girdler William Girdler (October 22, 1947 – January 21, 1978) was an American filmmaker. In a span of six years, from 1972 to 1978, he directed nine feature films in such genres as horror and action. Girdler also wrote and produced three of his featu ...
, based on a story by producer Edward L. Montoro. The film reunited Girdler and Montoro with stars
Christopher George Christopher John George (February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series '' The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1967 as Best TV Star for his ...
and
Richard Jaeckel Richard Jaeckel (born R. Hanley Jaeckel; October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received an Academy Award nomin ...
from the previous year's ''
Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
''. It co-stars
Lynda Day George Lynda Louise Day George (born Lynda Louise Day; December 11, 1944) is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission ...
and
Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...
. ''Day of the Animals'' tells the story of a psychosis brought on by depletion of the Earth's
ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the a ...
, affecting all animals at high altitudes. A group of hapless hikers must survive the animal onslaught and make their way to safety, even as the psychosis turns them against each other.


Plot

The depletion of the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
's
ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the a ...
by
aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or Human impact on the environment, human causes. The term ''aerosol'' co ...
s has been causing increased exposure to
UV radiation Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of t ...
at high altitudes.
Scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
s observe that
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s over in altitude become highly aggressive. One small-town
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
barely escapes getting mauled to death by
rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
s. The government orders the evacuation and quarantine of all settlements above that altitude. In the midst of this, a group of
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
s in
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
set off on a hike through the wilderness, led by tour operator Steve Buckner (
Christopher George Christopher John George (February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series '' The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1967 as Best TV Star for his ...
) and Native American guide Santee (
Michael Ansara Michael George Ansara (; April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. A Syrian-American, he was often cast in Arabic and American Indian roles. His work in both film and television spanned several genres including historical epic ...
). The tourists are the bickering Mandy and Frank Young, Mrs. Shirley Goodwyn and her son John, Paul Jenson, Prof. Taylor MacGregor, young couple Bob Denning and Beth Hughes, Terry Marsh, and Roy Moore. With no way of communicating with the outside world, they are ignorant of the strange animal activity and are baffled when a
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
attacks their camp. They shrug off the incident and continue the hike, as the woodland creatures eye them menacingly. However, Mandy, the wolf victim, and Frank are allowed to go back down the mountain. Later, they are beset by
hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...
s, and Mandy falls to her death as a result. Frank survives the hawk attack and wanders the forest, finding an empty town he picks up a little girl who was abandoned when the government quarantined her town. The two continue down the road, trying to find help. The remaining group abandon the hike upon finding that their helicopter-dropped food cache has been raided by animals. While camping at the site of the food cache for the night, the camp is attacked by
mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
s when Jenson falls asleep while on watch. The next morning, the hiking group catch fish in the nearby stream. Hiker Paul Jenson (Nielsen), an arrogant and violent executive, abandons Buckner and Santee and takes four of the hikers with him: Mrs. Goodwyn and her son John, and couple Bob and Beth. He hopes to find help at a Ranger station at a higher altitude; the guides take their group a less risky route down the mountain. The hikers are not immune to the high-altitude aggression anomaly, and tensions begin to run high. The now-
psychopathic Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to s ...
Jenson acts abusively, pushing his group very hard, yelling at, threatening and insulting them. Jenson finally breaks down; he gets in a fight with his group and murders Bob. A
grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
approaches as Jenson attempts to rape Beth that night and he is simply killed while trying to wrestle it. Mrs. Goodwyn, John, and Beth flee as Jenson is fatally mauled by the bear. Frank and the little girl make their way to a road and the town the tour left from, finding empty houses and abandoned vehicles, and an army truck with a dead driver. He tries to drive her to safety in an abandoned car, but the car is dead. He tries to get his own car from the hotel, leaving the girl alone in the relative safety of a junk car, but is slaughtered by vicious
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
s and venomous
snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
s in front of the girl. John, Mrs. Goodwyn, and Beth manage to find refuge inside an abandoned helicopter as they are attacked by wild dogs. The other group manage to get to a town below 5,000 feet, but find it deserted. A pack of
German shepherds The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally br ...
kills Roy and the professor; Buckner leads his surviving charges into a nearby river on a makeshift raft. The next morning, Beth, Mrs. Goodwyn, and John awaken in the downed helicopter to find the wild dogs dead; an army rescue helicopter is seen coming towards them.
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
soldiers in hazmat gear arrive to secure the towns and find the little girl in the junk car. The little girl has survived and so she is taken to safety by the soldiers. By then, almost all the animals that went mad have been killed by the same solar radiation that drove them mad in the first place. Buckner, Terry, and Santee are rescued as they float downriver to a Ranger station. At the end of the film, a surviving hawk lunges at the screen just before the credits roll.


Cast

*
Christopher George Christopher John George (February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series '' The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1967 as Best TV Star for his ...
as Steve Buckner *
Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...
as Paul Jenson *
Lynda Day George Lynda Louise Day George (born Lynda Louise Day; December 11, 1944) is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission ...
as Terry Marsh *
Richard Jaeckel Richard Jaeckel (born R. Hanley Jaeckel; October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received an Academy Award nomin ...
as Prof. Taylor MacGregor * Kathleen Bracken as Beth Hughes *
Michael Ansara Michael George Ansara (; April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. A Syrian-American, he was often cast in Arabic and American Indian roles. His work in both film and television spanned several genres including historical epic ...
as Daniel Santee *
Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the East Coast, Roman moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeared in ...
as Mrs. Shirley Goodwyn *
Jon Cedar Jon Cedar (January 22, 1931 – April 14, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in more than sixty television and film roles during his career. Career Cedar began his acting career in high school theater productions at Detroit High School. ...
as Frank Young *
Paul Mantee Paul Mantee (born Paul Marianetti; January 9, 1931 – November 7, 2013) was an American film and television actor. Biography Mantee was born Paul Marianetti in San Francisco, California. A journalism major at San Mateo Junior College, Mantee e ...
as Roy Moore * Walter Barnes as Ranger Tucker *
Andrew Stevens Andrew Stevens (born Herman Andrew Stephens; June 10, 1955) is an American executive, film producer, director and actor. Early life Stevens was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the only child of actress Stella Stevens and her former husband Noble ...
as Bob Denning * Susan Backlinie as Mandy Young *Michelle Stacy as the little girl


Production

The budget of the production was $1.2 million and shooting took place at Long Barn, California, on
Todd-AO 35 Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company retains one facility, in the Los Angeles area. Todd-AO i ...
film, with the cast recalling that they had a good time.
Lynda Day George Lynda Louise Day George (born Lynda Louise Day; December 11, 1944) is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission ...
, an outspoken activist about the depletion of the ozone layer, also saw the film as a good platform for addressing the issue. The animals for the film were trained by Monty Cox, veteran of such productions as ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...
'' and ''
The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...
'', who partnered with cast member Susan Backlinie, who also doubled for Lynda Day George in some scenes. According to Leslie Nielsen, the grizzly bear was actually played by a honey bear.


Release

''Day of the Animals'' was released in U.S. theaters on May 13, 1977 and a movie tie-in novelization, written by Donald Porter, accompanied its release.


Reception

''Day of the Animals'' was mostly panned by critics for its poor special effects, goofy premise, banal execution (derivative of '' The Birds'') and on-the-nose environmental themes. Some critics have recommended the film to fans of natural horror and
disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, offensive (military), military/terrorism, terrorist att ...
s of the 1970s, with AllMovie comparing it to ''
Kingdom of the Spiders ''Kingdom of the Spiders'' is a 1977 American science fiction horror film directed by John "Bud" Cardos and produced by Igo Kantor and Jeffrey M. Sneller. The screenplay is credited to Richard Robinson and Alan Caillou, from an original sto ...
'' and ''
Frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...
''. Additionally, the film has a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
among many who saw it at a young age. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds a 40% rating, based on 5 reviews.


Home video

The film was first released on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
by Media Home Entertainment in
pan-and-scan Pan and scan is a film editing technique used to modify widescreen images for display on a fullscreen screen. It involves cropping the sides of the original widescreen image and panning across it when the shot's focus changes. This cropping ca ...
format.
Media Blasters Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment company that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American mar ...
released the film on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on April 25, 2006, under its "Shriek Show" imprint, featuring interviews with actors Jon Cedar and Paul Mantee integrated into a
featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...
. Scorpion Releasing released a
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and a second DVD in November 2013, featuring extended versions of the Media Blasters interviews, a soundtrack isolating Schifrin's score and the original
TV spot A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
.
Katarina Waters Katarina Leigh Waters (born 10 November 1980) is a German-born English American retired professional wrestler and actress. She is best known for her time with Impact Wrestling under the ring names Katarina or Winter and for her time in WWE under ...
hosted an introductory "Katarina's Nightmare Theater" segment. On March 24, 2017, Rifftrax released a VOD of the film with comedic commentary by Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. In 2021, it was re-released Region Free on DVD and Blu-ray by
Severin Films Severin Films is an American independent film production and distribution company known for restoring and releasing cult films on DVD and Blu-ray. It is considered a boutique Blu-ray and DVD label. History The label was created in 2006 in Los A ...
.


See also

* ''
Dark Night of the Scarecrow ''Dark Night of the Scarecrow'' is a 1981 American made-for-television horror film directed by veteran novelist Frank De Felitta (author of '' Audrey Rose'') from a script by J.D. Feigelson. Feigelson's intent had been to make an independent fea ...
'', a 1981 TV horror film * ''
Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
'' * ''
Wild Beasts Wild Beasts was an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Recording Company, Domino ...
'' * ''
Zoombies ''Zoombies'' is a 2016 American science fiction film, science fiction action film, action horror film, horror television film directed by Glenn R. Miller and written by Scotty Mullen. It stars Ione Butler, Andrew Asper, Marcus Anderson Kim Niels ...
''


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Day Of The Animals 1970s American films 1970s English-language films 1977 films 1977 horror films American disaster films American independent films American natural horror films American survival films Environmental films Films directed by William Girdler Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films set in California Films shot in California English-language horror films