Animals

It's worth watching Animals for Nicki Aycox as the femme fatale. There is excellent colour, but the soundtrack is a bit dated and ordinary, including the animal sounds. There are moments of good cinematography, some of the interior car scenes or shots of industry at twilight for example, but the movie falls down somewhat when it comes to visual effects. Not entirely though, as I thought some of the lightening movements of the 'animals' were done well. I'll have to just out and say it however ... the 3D animations were simplistic and cheap, and could only have worked if the movie was 1999 rather than 2009. Animals is basically a vampire movie, and if you like vampire movies then this one is interesting and sincere, and certainly bloody, and at least deserves a much higher score than the 3.8 it currently enjoys here at IMDb.

I got the book this is based on from a remainder bin and loved it. Movis is not as good. The wild streak that makes the hero a candidate is not as clear. good enough, the acting is fine. I like that the transformation is unlike other films although a bigger cgi budget would help. Great concept just a bit off the mark.

After a football injury ended his career before it even began "Jarrett" (Marc Blucas) is now forced to work at a menial job with a boss who doesn't like him. His only respite is a bar where he goes to socialize with the owner "Jules" (Andy Comeau) and the waitress "Jane" (Eva Amurri Martino). One night a sexy young woman named "Nora" (Nicki Aycox) walks in and Jarrett is immediately attracted to her. Jane recognizes immediately that Nora is trouble and tries to warn Jarrett but her words fall on deaf ears. It appears that Nora has a unique malady which turns her into a ravenous beast similar to a werewolf and she wants Jarrett to be her new mate. Unfortunately, she already has a mate named "Vic" (Naveen Andrews) who she is desperately trying to escape from due to his cruelty and insane jealousy. Anyway, rather than disclose the entire details of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a pretty good low-budget horror film. Admittedly, the CGI wasn't that good but it had a good story and I liked the performances of Marc Blucas, Nicki Aycox and Naveen Andrews. However, I should probably caution viewers that there is quite a bit of sex and nudity which is certainly not appropriate for a general audience. Even so I thought it was a pretty good movie and I rate it as slightly above average.

Animals starts as down on luck washed up loser Jarrett (Marc Blucas) drowns his sorrows at his friend Jules (Andy Comeau) bar when an alluring stranger named Nora (Nicki Aycox) walks in, Nora show's interest in Jarrett & they end up sleeping together at his place. A rough night of sex leaves Jarrett with scratches & also late for work for which his boss fires him, even though Nora is seductive Jarrett's life begins to fall apart. Then a man named Vic (Naveen Andrews) turns up claiming that Nora is hers, after Nora leaves Jarrett begins to change as his basic animal instincts seem to be heightened. Jarrett discovers that Nora has infected him with the ability to awaken his deep animalistic desires, instincts & powers but at the cost of the craving for human blood... Directed by Douglas Aarniokoski this horror thriller was based on the novel Animals by John Skipp, I have not read the novel but by all accounts it's far superior to this filmed adaptation which is pretty bad to be honest. The basic concept & idea behind Animals is fairly original with some sort of infection that allows people to unleash their inner animal, be it that their sex drive is much higher or they are more aggressive to killing in cold blood for food. However the reasons behind this are all very ambiguous & unclear, is this some sort of disease or supernatural force? Even though you can call forth your inner animal that still doesn't explain why the affected are virtually invulnerable & can heal quickly, does it? How can Vic land on spiked railings & just get up & walk away? How can Jarrett be blown up in a car & by the following morning he's alive & well without so much as a scar? Animals tries to mix horror with a couple of gory death's & killer monster animals creatures with a few steamy sex scenes which are actually pretty tame & offer little more than some bare breast's. There's no background to the animals, who started it? How long has it been going on for? How many are able to change? At just under 90 minutes Animals doesn't exactly fly by, it's rather dull most of the time & Vic the main villain doesn't even get any significant screen time until the hour mark & it takes until the last ten or fifteen minutes before we see any transformations & the animal creatures coming out to play. The CGI computer effects are poor, when the animal creatures eventually appear at the end they look like cartoon ghost's & are not what I expected. There's a bit of gore, a throat is bitten out, there's some blood splatter, there are a couple of dead bloody bodies, there's a ripped-out heart & some flesh eating. There's a bit of nudity on show but nothing graphic, a few bare breast's & that's it. The film is rather flat & a bit dull to watch, I mean it's competent but forgettable. The IMDb says this had a budget of about $5,500,000 which surprises me, it looks a lot lower budget than that & it's no surprise that it has had trouble finding anyone to distribute it. Filmed in Utah & Reno. The acting is average, it's not great but it's tolerable. Animals is a disappointing attempt to mix horror & sex with a thriller styled plot that just doesn't work. Poor effects, a poor story with no background or reasoning & a predictable plot sink it without trace.

In Reno, Vic (Naveen Andrews) and Nora (Nicki Aycox) form an unusual couple of predators between human and animals that feed of human blood and enjoy having sex. Nora decides to leave Vic and heads to Clayton Valley, where she meets the former football player Jarrett (Marc Blucas) in the bar Jules' Joint. Jarrett was in college with a scholarship, but he had an accident that interrupted his promising career and he had returned to his hometown. His best friend Jules (Andy Corneau) idolizes him and has many pictures and trophies of Jarrett exposed in his bar; the bartender Jane (Eva Amurri) has a secret crush on him. Presently Jarrett has a problem with his chief Vaughn (Bart Johnson) that persecutes him at work. Nora is harassed by Vaughn in the bar, but she refuses his invitation and goes to Jarrett's house; she bites him while they have wild sex. Jarrett feels his senses more accurate but he does not understand what is happening to him. When Vic arrives in town seeking out Nora, Jarrett discovers that Vic is not human while Nora and his friends are jeopardized by the cruel creature. "Animals" is a horror movie that blends gore and eroticism like an erotic thriller. Nicki Aycox is very hot in the sex scenes and the director Douglas Aarniokoski abuses in the exposition of the beautiful body of this actress. But this movie is not as bad as the IMDb Rating indicates. The screenplay and edition are confused; the special effects are above average; but the story could be an episode of "Supernatural', with these demoniac beings. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Animais" ("Animals")

I finally got to see the final cut of this film and although I still think it's a good horror film, with a few fairly intense sex scenes, it's a bit less effective than I expected. It is much better than the IMDb rating indicates. Only the cartoonish digital "animals"(imagine Scooby Doo's angry ghost) weaken what could have been a well-above-average film. I find it interesting that Reno is listed first in order on locations. Nearly all of this was shot in Utah. But I know there was some controversy about the close to "soft *" sex and the Utah Film Commission. Just filling in the long pause at the end of the first sex scene with talk I heard on set, I suspect that long cut leaves out a lot to be desired. I worked four days on this film as Bart Johnson's banker buddy, mostly in the bar scene. I loved watching the director working. Animals had a strong cast and crew and the editing and "most" of the effects are fine. It's certainly worth the price of rental from Redbox!

When I stumbled upon this 2009 horror movie titled "Animals", by random chance here in 2024, I picked it up on account of it being a horror movie that I had never seen, much less actually ever heard about. And given my life-long romance with the horror genre, of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch what director Douglas Aarniokoski had to offer. The storyline put together cy Craig Spector was pretty straightforward and actually had some good parts to it. However, it was somewhat diluted and tainted by an excessive amount of nudity and sex scenes. Sure, I get the aspect of the animalistic side to the movie, with becoming a beast and all, but I have to say that writer Craig Spector was just paying too much attention to sexual scenes and nudity. While I am certainly no prude, then I just don't really want to waste my time by watching nudity and sex scenes in a movie. I am watching it to be entertained by a story, not by carnal scenes. I was under the impression that it was a werewolf movie, but turns out that it wasn't. And that was actually a nice surprise, as it transcended being merely another werewolf flick in the bunch. Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with Marc Blucas and Naveen Andrews. It should be noted that the acting performances in the movie were fair. There were a couple of rather brutally violent scenes with some gory results. And as a gorehound and a life-long fan of horror movies, then that really spruced up the movie for me. Thumbs up for that accomplishment. The effects in the movie are fair. Sure, you will not be blown away or bedazzled, but the effects served their purpose in the movie. However, I don't really understand why the scenes with the creatures had to be blurry and had smoke in them. For suspense? Perhaps. Probably to save money on the effects, I suppose. But come on, people want to see the creatures in movies, not just flashy glimpses. Had director Douglas Aarniokoski opted to tone down the nudity and sex scenes, then the movie would have been all the more entertaining, enjoyable and watchable. However, I have to say that the movie is one that came and went without leaving a lasting impression on me. "Animals" is hardly a movie that warrants more than just a single viewing, as the storyline just didn't have enough contents and layers to support multiple viewings. My rating of "Animals" lands on a five out of ten stars.

"Bite me," instructs Nora (Nicki Aycox), and floundering decent guy Jarrett (Marc Blucas) isn't sure he wants to. But Nora's highly charged, insatiable sexuality doesn't seem to accept uncertainties. These two performers are excellent in what is little more than a series of passionate sexual encounters and gore. Her 'other beau' Vic (Naveen Andrews) also shares her feral instincts and is clearly not someone with whom you would wish to 'mess.' Stylistically, this reminded me of a kind of cross between the slinky sexiness of 'Underworld (2003)' and the trailer-park atmospherics of 'Near Dark (1987)'. Not a bad pedigree, and Director Douglas Aarniokoski ensures that visually things are interesting even if the story is somewhat thin - and strangely, gets thinner as events take their course. With a lessening of the sex, we are bombarded with more CGI effects the limited budget cannot sustain. This is a shame - with a more physical manifestation of the finale, it would have been more successful. CGI, unless expertly (and expensively) handled, robs a scene of atmosphere and reduces it to cartoon theatrics, and that is what happens here unfortunately. As such, it lessens the otherwise successful interpretation of John Skipp's original story.

What's up with my favorite magazine. I have them all, from number one up to issue October 2010, talking about fangoria. They used to be the trend setter into horror but sadly they are more into reviewing Hollywood crap and other shite. But still I keep my subscription due to years of searching to have the whole collection. This flick had a two page review and was said to be the next * flick you wished you had never seen. For one thing they were right. I indeed hoped that I never waisted 9O minutes of my life on it. What the hell was this. There is of course the nudity but what has it to do with the storyline, nothing. And if it's gratuitous than it bothers me. They said *, well, you never ever, and I've seen the full uncut, see a kitty cat or his bouncing balls giving it to her. So *, no way. Is there blood. Yes but maybe for only for 5 minutes. To make it all worser, when they become the so called animals it's all CGI. Just watch the last 10 minutes if you want to see the blood. Just take the cheap CGI with it. Sadly it isn't even SBIG (so bad it's good). Why o why fango are you letting me down already for a few times?

Down on his luck working class zhlub Jarrett (a likable portrayal by Mark Blucas) meets and falls for lovely and enticing, but dangerous and mysterious young minx Nora (a nicely sassy performance by the alluring Nicki Aycox). Nora draws Jarrett into a dark and frightening netherworld where the predatory and animalistic side of human nature gets unleashed. Complications ensue when Nora's feral and possessive lover Vic (robustly played with lip-licking nasty relish by Naveen Andrews) arrives in town looking for her. Director Douglas Aarniokoski, working from an engrossing script by Craif Spector, relates the compelling story at a snappy pace, brings a dazzling hyper-kinetic style to the entertainingly low-rent material, firmly grounds the fantastic premise in a plausibly gritty and downbeat blue collar environment, delivers a handy helping of graphic gore, and provides a substantial amount of tasty female nudity and sizzling soft-core sex that gives the picture an extra scorching erotic charge. The sound acting from the capable cast helps a lot, with especially praiseworthy work by Blucas, Aycox, and Andrews in the leads, with sturdy support from Eva Amurri as sweet and smitten barmaid Jane, Andy Comeau as amiable bar owner Jules, and Bart Johnson as Jarrett's jerky boss Vaughn. The polished cinematography by Mark Williams gives the movie an impressive glossy look. Alan Brewer's throbbing tribal score does the pulse-pounding trick. Only the shoddy CGI monster f/x leave something to be desired. Good rubbishy fun.