Summary: Animal is bloody, mildly effective and entertaining enough. 64/100 (B-)
When plans for a weekend vacation hit a dead end, a group of close- knit friends find themselves stranded in unfamiliar territory, pursued by a menacing, blood thirsty predator. Holed up in an isolated cabin, tensions mount as long-buried secrets are revealed. As the body count rises, the group must put their differences aside and fight for survival. "Animal" surprised me so much, I was expecting a crappy horror movie with an ex-nickelodeon cast, but ultimately the film was very enjoyable, bloody and sometimes smart. I also have to give some credit to the cast, I know them from other movies and a few TV shows, all of them are very likable and talented, they also bring some charisma to the film.
Also, Drew Barrymore produced this film and I had no idea; that's impressive. Moving on, the opening scene is quite simple, pretty passable. Also on the downside, the first minutes of the movie are dull character development, everything is so predictable because they are a group of teenagers into the woods and we all know how it ends. Animal doesn't offer anything new to the genre and it's sometimes cheesy, however I enjoyed it so much, and the jump scares were very effective and unpredictable to me. The human drama also works, that's one of the most interesting things about this little flick and I like how some characters felt the necessity of confess their most intimate secrets before dying.
For a low-budget movie like this one, the sound design, the production and the special effects are great. The creature itself is also scary and very well done, although its appearance may remind you to another monsters from some classic horror films, but... who cares? It is still scary and original enough. The violent scenes are unexpected and explosively bloody. It may be an awful film for some people and I actually have to admit that the script has a lot of flaws, but as a horror fan I was completely satisfied, especially with the ending, that ending was great. My final verdict is that Animal is bloody, entertaining and boasts a great cast. Keke Palmer and Elizabeth Gillies did a really good job. (B-)
When plans for a weekend vacation hit a dead end, a group of close- knit friends find themselves stranded in unfamiliar territory, pursued by a menacing, blood thirsty predator. Holed up in an isolated cabin, tensions mount as long-buried secrets are revealed. As the body count rises, the group must put their differences aside and fight for survival. "Animal" surprised me so much, I was expecting a crappy horror movie with an ex-nickelodeon cast, but ultimately the film was very enjoyable, bloody and sometimes smart. I also have to give some credit to the cast, I know them from other movies and a few TV shows, all of them are very likable and talented, they also bring some charisma to the film.
Also, Drew Barrymore produced this film and I had no idea; that's impressive. Moving on, the opening scene is quite simple, pretty passable. Also on the downside, the first minutes of the movie are dull character development, everything is so predictable because they are a group of teenagers into the woods and we all know how it ends. Animal doesn't offer anything new to the genre and it's sometimes cheesy, however I enjoyed it so much, and the jump scares were very effective and unpredictable to me. The human drama also works, that's one of the most interesting things about this little flick and I like how some characters felt the necessity of confess their most intimate secrets before dying.
For a low-budget movie like this one, the sound design, the production and the special effects are great. The creature itself is also scary and very well done, although its appearance may remind you to another monsters from some classic horror films, but... who cares? It is still scary and original enough. The violent scenes are unexpected and explosively bloody. It may be an awful film for some people and I actually have to admit that the script has a lot of flaws, but as a horror fan I was completely satisfied, especially with the ending, that ending was great. My final verdict is that Animal is bloody, entertaining and boasts a great cast. Keke Palmer and Elizabeth Gillies did a really good job. (B-)