Animal Factory (2000)

A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.

Director:

Steve Buscemi

Writers:

Edward Bunker (novel), Edward Bunker (screenplay),

Stars:

Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Willem Dafoe	...	Earl Copen
Edward Furlong	...	Ron Decker
Danny Trejo	...	Vito
Mark Boone Junior	...	Paul Adams
Seymour Cassel	...	Lt. Seeman
Mickey Rourke	...	Jan the Actress
Tom Arnold	...	Buck Rowan
John Heard	...	James Decker
Chris Bauer	...	Bad Eye
Rockets Redglare	...	Big Rand
Jake La Botz	...	Jesse (as Jake LaBotz)
Mark Engelhardt	...	T.J.
Edward Bunker	...	Buzzard
Victor Pagan	...	Psycho Mike
Ernest Harden Jr.	...	Richland

Storyline

Ron, who's young, slight, and privileged, is sentenced to prison on marijuana charges. For whatever reason, he brings out paternal feelings in an 18-year prison veteran, Earl Copan, who takes Ron under his wing. The film explores the nature of that relationship, Ron's part in Earl's gang, and the way Ron deals with aggressive cons intent on assault and rape. There's casual racism, too, in the prisoners and the guards, a strike called by Black prisoners, and the nearly omnipresence of hard drugs. Ron's lawyer is working on getting Ron out quickly, Earl has a shot at parole, and death seems to be waiting in the next cell. Will prison turn Ron into an animal?

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Plot Keywords:

prison | parole | racism | drugs | rape | 

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Taglines:

On the Inside the Rules Are Brutal And the Stakes Are High

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, violence and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2000 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Elukkatehdas

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,746 (USA) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

ESP 37,350,293 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Animal Productions LLC, Arts Production Corporation, Franchise Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actual convicts are featured as extras.

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Goofs

Ron's hair when he first meets Earl.

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Quotes

Earl Copen: Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven.

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Soundtracks

"This Ain't the Way I Come Up (But It's the Way I'm Going Down)"
Written and Performed by Jake La Botz
Published by Under the El Music (BMI)
Administered by Bug Music Inc.

User Reviews

Underrated, but will be enjoyed by few...

Whew. What can I say. This was a fascinating film that was very hard to turn away from (even to answer the phone!). Edward Furlong turns in another very solid performance as a too-young-to-be-in-this-type-of-place prisoner and Willem Dafoe was very interesting as his would-be mentor.

Prison films are always tough to make as they tend to lean heavily upon stereotypes (the prisoner who runs the prison, male rape scenes, the violence in the prison yard) and this film is no exception. Buscemi gets away with it by making it all seem so workaday and routine, which in some ways is even more frightening.

Overall I enjoyed this film but I imagine the audience for a stark prison flick is pretty small. Kudos to Buscemi for having the nerve to make it, tho.