Day of the Animals

(Viewed on 7/07/12): The only reason to see this silly ecological horror is Leslie Nielsen. He plays a real asshole that loses the plot and starts bullying a group of hikers that have fallen prey to an unprecedented environmental disaster. He isn't exactly convincing in the role, but he is incredibly entertaining to watch, even moreso than he was in Creepshow. The film itself is a typical Girdler effort: inept and cheap but not without charm. Watch it for Nielsen.

As hokey and ridiculous as this can get, I was pleasantly surprised to find the plot didn't center on an afternoon spent with Eric Burden.

Honest-to-goodness b-movie nonsense. Animals are going crazy due to excessive UV rays from ozone damage! HOORAY! This is an improvement over GRIZZLY, Girdler's previous evil animal picture, but it's by no means well made. There's bad acting, some iffy effects, an obvious camera reflection, a person in the background of a supposed deserted area, etc. But the music's cool, and the animal attacks are actually pulled off pretty well. Leslie Nielsen plays a crazy a-hole, too. Good fun.

Nice movie, hotshot. Has a whole lotta shirtless Leslie Nielsen, which is not my go-to fantasy, but you could do worse. Less boring than most "animal attack" films from the same era, but not good.

You haven't cinema-ed until you watch Leslie Nielsen fight a bear with no shirt on.