I was lucky enough to receive a screener of “Live Animals” earlier this week, and with it being a few weeks before the DVD hits store shelves, I figured I’d weigh in with my wonderful, well-respected thoughts.

THE TRAILER

THE PLOT

The back of the DVD case says:

“In the quiet of the country, a sick, twisted man kidnaps young adults in the dark of night, binds them by heavy chain to stalls in an isolated barn.  They are trained to obey with torture, broken like horses, prepared for merciless slaughter.  Their screeches of pain go ignored- many others were once here, many more will arrive.  But one batch of prisoners has the chance to escape.  Too bad they’ve underestimated their killer…”

WHAT I DISLIKED

“LIve Animals” sometimes tries a little bit too hard to be important.  There are a couple of stumbles here and there, nothing completely offensive to the senses, but there are a few places where the film’s choices are a tad bit suspect.  Number one- the score: the initial kidnapping sequence is completely out of place; to be blunt, it seems like it was salvaged from James Horner’s trashed notes from when he was working on “Glory”- it’s a disarming musical choice that puts the film in bigger shoes than it should wear, in my opinion.  Granted, things taper off and settle into more of a traditional horror score later in the film, but for the most part it leaves a lot to be desired.  In that same vein, aside from the villains of the piece, I found the characters to lacking as far as progression is concerned; there is pretty much no growth whatsoever for these folks- they exist only to get killed off, which turns the film into a strictly by-the-numbers affair during the third act as we see how everything plays out.  While the suspense level is always quite high concerning how these people are going to get out of the horrible situation that they’re in, a little more insight into their lives besides the usual genre tropes (i.e. girl on the rebound looking forward to a party with friends, or familial & protective bonds between siblings during times of duress) would have probably strengthened the film as a whole.  In short, even if they’re cannon fodder, we still need to care about them… and that’s where “Live Animals” comes up short.

WHAT I LIKED

The film is chock full of drive and ambition- there’s an inherent willingness from the filmmakers to create something that matters, and said willingness shows up on screen for a good portion of the runtime.  The villains are a tad more fully fleshed out than the usual ones in this fare without any complicated backstory to hamper them, which makes for a streamlined yet suspenseful ride.  All the actors involved give it their all, even when the things completely devolve into f-bombs, gratuitous crying, hoarse screaming, and pretty much nothing else.  Characterization woes aside, everyone’s committed to the task at hand and does the best they can- which counts for a lot in the long run. 

“Live Animals” also happens to have tons of suspense going for it.  Every sequence builds to a crescendo of dread and anticipation, and more often than not, the payoffs work.   The film also takes a page out of the old school horror playbook in these sense that the power of suggestion works a lot better than blatantly showing something.  There’s an incident involving a tongue which is implied and then we’re shown the aftermath- there’s a long shot of a secluded farmhouse as the malicious deed happens, which works a hell of a lot better than blatantly going for the gore shot… of course, “Live Animals” manages to do that near the end, appeasing both fans of subtlety and fans of grue once the film is over.

Since this is a film of the post-modern/self-aware horror movie era, twists are inevitable.  Luckily, the twists that happen in this particular film don’t come out of left field and are quite organic (and shocking) in their execution.  While most film twists require a lot of suspension of disbelief (and in some cases, they only work once… has anyone watched “Signs” lately?), the twists here don’t disappoint and make more than enough sense upon repeated viewings.  Will smart moviegoers figure things out long before they happen? 

Sure- but the ride is fun.

THE VERDICT

Nitpicking aside, if you are a fan of horror, you should see this film.  While the It’s not the best movie you’ll see, it definitely isn’t the worst either.  If Sixteenth Section Pictures tackles their next project with the same level of commitment displayed here and with a tad bit more money, it might just surprise a hell of a lot of people. 

Special thanks to Echo Bridge Home Entertainment and Mark Volzer for providing me with a screener copy.  Don’t worry True Believers, I still have my copy from Amazon on order.  No sell out here!