Review: Animal

Animal  is one of the least ambitious horror films in recent memory. The story is what you would expect. No problems there in my book. I am all for a premise that pits a group of college kids against a killer creature. The characters though should be somewhat formed and the kills should be clever. Animal unfortunately is as cookie cutter as a horror film can get.

Right from the get-go, we understand the film is going to play off cliches. We have the alpha male, the ditzy, slutty girlfriend, token black guy and others. When the young friends begin heading towards their camp site, they quickly realize an animal is out hunting them. They hold up quickly in a cabin with three older people. Joey Lauren Adams brings a few scenes together with her performance of a women who is not as helpless as the others.

As the creature closes in and the body count rises, Animal only once surprises. There is a kill late in the film that did throw me off guard. The kills scenes are gory but plain. Each kill feels almost exactly the same, the creature attacks and rips open the torso of the victim and eats their guts.

Animal lack passion. I don't believe director Brett Simmons cared much about taking the hunter/prey style creature feature and doing something new with it. Even if he didn't break new ground, he could have poured more thought into the gore and fun of the whole film. Animal is generic horror that should be skipped.