Top Ten: Animals Attack! Movies

Roar is, without question, the cinematic rediscovery of 2015. A movie made with little regard for anybody’s safety (as the tagline goes: “No animals in were harmed in the making – over 70 members of the cast and crew were!”), it’s the result of pure psychosis on the part of then power couple Noel Marshall and Tippi Hedren. An action-adventure riff turned oddball slasher (with live lions taking the place of a masked maniac), Roar follows a wildlife preservationist (Marhsall) who amicably exists in a tiny home with over one hundred untamed animals – including cheetahs, elephants, lions and tigers. When his family (including a pre-facial reconstruction Melanie Griffith) arrives, they find themselves the prey of this relentless pack. Drafthouse Films have yet again unleashed a gonzo bit of genre film, fit to be experienced with a crowd of unprepared souls.

As fate would have it, Drafthouse isn’t the only company interested in revisiting the “animals attack!” subgenre, as Scream Factory are also unleashing a dual offering of double features, each of the four films (Food of the Gods/Frogs & Empire of the Ants/Jaws of Satan) sporting a different genus waiting to wipe humans clean from the planet. So what better time is there to put together a starter list of suggestions for those who want to delve deeper into this less championed corner of scream cinema. Here are ten essential “When Animals Attack!” motion pictures.


Jacob Knight is an Austin, Texas based film writer who moonlights as a clerk at Vulcan Video, one of the last great independent video stores in the US. You can find find him on Twitter @JacobQKnight.

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