My first summer in the Sierra

Tired of horror flicks with only *one* kind of monster? Don't worry, "Day of the Animals" to the rescue! This unrealistic story features lethal attacks on humans by essentially everything. Eagles, vultures, wolves, bears, cougars, Alsatians, rats, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, Leslie Nielsen...all of nature plus our most cherished household pets and even a human (Nielsen, remember?) are running bezerk in this classical disaster movie from 1977.

The backdrop to the story is the fear of ozone depletion, the "global warming issue" of the 1970's. "Day of the Animals" features a group of rookies on a hike in the high hills of California, just when ozone depletion drives all beasts crazy at elevations above 5000 feet. Accosted by eagles, wolves and other wild animals, the inexperienced hikers must somehow get back to civilization. Unfortunately, all human settlements along the trail have already been abandoned and taken over by marauding gangs of Animalia...

John Muir famously said that if a war broke out between humans and beasts, he would side with the latter. I suppose this might have been one of Muir's favourite movies, had he somehow lived to see it. I can't say "Day of the Animals" is a *really* good movie, but it works well alongside other disaster movies of the "nature gone wild" type. Besides, I have a soft spot for its philosophical message (if that's the word for it).

I therefore very graciously award it four stars.