The Truth About a Movie That’s a Complete Feral Disaster
In 1977, at the peak of environmental paranoia, we were introduced to Day of the Animals, a film that tried its best to tap into the fear of the ozone layer depletion but instead churned out one of the most bizarrely entertaining, unintentionally hilarious horror flicks of the 1970s. Directed by William Girdler, Day of the Animals (also hilariously re-released as Something Is Out There) attempts to turn the natural world into an adversary, focusing on a group of hapless hikers who are being hunted by animals driven mad by an ozone-induced psychosis. Think Jaws meets The Birds, but with more absurdity, less logic, and a lot more hilariously bad animal acting.
The plot kicks off with the kind of science most of us remember from our middle school days: The depletion of the ozone layer, that invisible barrier protecting us from harmful UV radiation, causes animals living at high altitudes to go berserk. This gives the filmmakers a convenient excuse to throw in a mishmash of wild animal attacks, from hawks to rats to mountain lions, as though every furry creature in the sky and ground suddenly got the rage of a thousand hellish creatures. If this film were any more ridiculous, it’d have been marketed as a comedy.
Our story follows a group of tourists in Northern California led by Steve Buckner (played by the eternally grizzled Christopher George) and his Native American guide Santee (the always stoic Michael Ansara), who embark on a routine hiking adventure. The first sign that things are going off the rails is when a wolf attacks their camp, sending everyone into a mild state of confusion before they just brush it off. I mean, who hasn’t had a wolf casually attempt to gnaw off your face on vacation? No big deal. But this is just the beginning of a series of incidents that can only be described as the animal kingdom’s desperate cry for help.
The group continues their hike, as animals—who have clearly become part-time psychoanalysts—decide that hiking humans are just too much for their delicate sensibilities. And who can blame them? They’ve been exposed to relentless radiation for far too long. Before long, hawks descend on the camp, and in a classic example of Day of the Animals’ subtle approach to plot progression, Mandy Young (Susan Backlinie) is flung off the mountain. But don’t worry. She wasn’t just attacked by hawks. Oh no, she took a dive off a cliff because, you know, that’s what happens when a bunch of psychotic birds come at you like they’re auditioning for the lead role in Birdemic.
From there, the film spirals into madness—literally. As the group encounters more animals gone wild, we get more prolonged sequences of humans yelling at one another, running for their lives, and getting attacked by angry German shepherds or—oh yes—a honey bear that was apparently standing in for the grizzly bear. But here’s the catch: the animals aren’t just attacking randomly. No, they’re part of a psychotic plan orchestrated by none other than the ozone layer itself. As one might imagine, the plot doesn’t leave much room for logic, and the desperation of the filmmakers to tie it all together is almost laughable. The animals attack, the humans panic, rinse, repeat.
Leslie Nielsen, best known for his deadpan comedy roles, takes a sharp left turn here playing the morally bankrupt Paul Jenson. He’s not the deadpan funny guy you remember from Airplane! or The Naked Gun. Oh no, here, he’s a genuinely irritating, selfish character who murders his way through the wilderness. One could argue that the only thing more dangerous than the animals in this film is Paul Jenson himself. By the time he’s locked in a fierce battle with a grizzly bear while attempting to sexually assault one of the women (because why not throw that in there?), it’s clear that his character is the true villain of the movie. At least the animals have the excuse of being out of their minds due to ozone depletion, but Jenson? He’s just an awful person with questionable fashion choices.
The remainder of the film is a hodgepodge of ridiculous set pieces. We have the necessary mountain lion attack (which occurs only after a lazy hiker falls asleep on watch), followed by a grizzly attack and more absurdly random animal encounters. As things go from bad to worse, Jenson’s complete mental breakdown leads to a murder spree that would make The Shining look tame. When Jenson attempts to rape Beth Hughes (played by Kathleen Bracken), he’s interrupted by the very animal that embodies the film’s insane plot twists: a grizzly bear. In what is the movie’s most appropriate turn of events, the bear kills Jenson. Sure, he was a terrible human being, but the film plays this like a tragic hero moment, only to undercut it with more disjointed animal attacks.
Now, let’s talk about the science behind all of this: the animals attacking humans due to the ozone layer being depleted. It’s the kind of environmentalism-driven plot that feels half-baked, despite its clear message: Let’s not screw with the planet, or this could happen. Unfortunately, the execution of this eco-horror falls flat because it uses the perfect storm of cliché tropes to drive home its point—animals turning into mindless killing machines, humans acting just as irrationally as their animal counterparts, and the general feeling that everyone involved has no clue what’s actually happening.
As the film reaches its climax, the survivors—if you can call them that—make it to a helicopter. It’s a brief respite before they’re greeted by the still-raging animal kingdom. Just when it seems like they’re safe, the ever-persistent hawk reappears, flapping and cawing as it lunges toward the camera in a “final scare” that’s neither scary nor satisfying. At this point, viewers have already checked out mentally, wondering when it all ends. The movie culminates in a scene that is supposed to give closure but instead only leaves us thinking, “Wait, did I just waste an hour and a half on this?” Yes, yes, you did.
In conclusion, Day of the Animals is a perfect example of eco-horror gone wrong. It’s so over-the-top and downright ridiculous that it’s almost impossible to take seriously. While it attempts to deliver a message about the dangers of environmental destruction, it does so in such an unintentional comedic fashion that it barely registers as a horror film. If you’re looking for something that will make you laugh at its absurdity, then Day of the Animals is your go-to flick. Otherwise, maybe consider watching something that doesn’t involve psychotic wildlife and questionable performances from actors who clearly didn’t sign up for this.
