Human Animals (1983) User Reviews

Larry the dog!

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 8 November 2021]

After a nuclear war, two men and one woman awaken in a deserted landscape unsure of how they arrived and unable to speak. One of the men and the woman are brother and sister who show up dressed as if they were attending a party when the end came, while the other man appears to be a tougher man, perhaps a biker.

Then, the crabs attack.

The stronger of the men destroys them and cracks open their shells so that everyone can eat before taking the woman while her brother can only watch. Soon, they're joined by a gigantic dog who becomes bonded to the woman in ways that the men soon can only hope for, turning the entire film into an exploration of bestiality and incest and man's inhumanity to man and animal, but all through the lens of art. Yet isn't art just the right theater instead of the grindhouse.

This movie has taught me that if you piss on a dog, it will steal your woman.

But seriously, this is a surreal take on the end of the world movie and I've never seen anything like it. I honestly believe that I will never see another movie like it again either.

What a weird ride

[floyd-27 · 4 February 2000]

You like weird movies? If you do, you must search this complete oddity out!

It involves 2 men, a woman and Larry the dog. The men have their turns and begin to fight over who is going to be the dominant male of the group. Only problem is "Woman" has picked someone else!?!? :)

This is not your conventional sci-fi. It plays with a very odd soundtrack and has no speech what so ever! What you do get is a lot of grunting, groaning and barking!!!

Post-Apocalyptic Drama Goes to the Dogs

[jfrentzen-942-204211 · 3/10 · 1 February 2024]

HUMAN ANIMALS is one of those arty exploitation films that no one would want to see, even if they had the opportunity. Its theme, the cultural regression of three people who survive a nuclear holocaust, is nothing new. These include a well-manicured young woman, a somewhat greasy and leering musician, and another young man who is apparently the woman's brother. They wake up on one of the Canary Islands after we witness an impressive library of stock atom bomb blasts. Almost immediately, they fall into neanderthal ways and spend most of the film fighting, having sex, grunting, and killing one another.

The ringer is that, in the windswept post-apocalyptic landscape, they find a resourceful German Shepherd dog that helps them find food. The dog observes the two men engaging in (sometimes non-consensual) sex with the woman and figures, why not join in? As ridiculous as that sounds, the dog and the woman do get it on, albeit in a scene that thankfully leaves much to the imagination. Thus, HUMAN ANIMALS is a must-see for bestiality fans and anyone who thinks they've seen it all.

Aside from that aberration, the rest of this charade is supremely pretentious. For example, the wind doesn't just blow, it practically knocks over the actors; a lush orchestral score plays over nearly every scene for no reason; an ocean spray signifies lust; there's even a silly "Adam and Eve" ending. Most irritatingly, there is no dialogue whatsoever. The actors awkwardly play the entire film in a kind of exaggerated pantomime.

As with the film's direct antecedents, Arch Oboler's FIVE (1951) and Ronald MacDougall's THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL (1959), the best scenes in HUMAN ANIMALS come very early on, in which the characters discover their planet's fate. But the comparison ends there. Try as they may, the makers of HUMAN ANIMALS cannot create a meaningful subtext beyond the implications of what a German Shepherd sees in the last woman on Earth.

Shooting on a Budget!

[wilderdan · 11 November 2001]

Things must go a lot quicker at a movie shoot when there's absolutely no dialog to remember or forget. This is certainly the case here. Movie starts with a number of nuclear explosions (stock footage from different eras) Then 3 people apparently have survived unscathed. The rest? Well the previous reviewer pretty much sums it up. The actress (Carole Kirkham) who never appeared in any other movie apparently, spent most of the movie running around half naked, which exited the men and the canine. The best performance was probably turned in by the canine as he managed to "take her" in the missionary position!!