Day of the Animals
Encyclopedia
The Day of the Animals is a 1977 American horror film
thriller directed by William Girdler
and based on a story written by Edward L. Montoro
. Premiering on May 13, 1977, the movie reunited stars Christopher George
and Richard Jaeckel
, director Girdler and producer Montoro from the previous year's hit film Grizzly
.
Over the course of the movie, multiple wild and dangerous animals stalk and attack the hikers, and eventually start picking them off. These include a Mountain Lion, a Grizzly Bear, a pack of Wolves and several Birds of Prey (Hawks, Falcons, Eagles and Owls).
One of the hikers, Paul Jenson (Leslie Neilsen) goes mad as he is one of the very few humans to fall victim to the solar radiation making all the animals crazy, and he eventually attacks the group killing one of them. He finally takes on a grizzly bear and the bear kills him.
The others manage to get below the 5,000 foot "radiation zone" area until they are trapped by several German Shepherds in an isolated cabin. Two of the hikers are killed by the vicious canines and the last three of the group members escape on a raft in a nearby river. They are rescued the next day as they float down river to a Park Rangers station.
The next day, groups of U.S. Army troops, wearing radiation suits and armed with flame-throwers and various automatic weapons, arrive to secure the areas. By then almost all the animals that went crazy are killed by the very same solar radiation that drove them mad in the first place. This implies that life for humans will return to normal fairly soon. At the end of the movie, a surviving hawk lunges at the screen just before the credits roll.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
thriller directed by William Girdler
William Girdler
William Girdler was an American filmmaker. In a span of seven years, from 1972 to 1978, he directed nine feature films in such genres as horror and action...
and based on a story written by Edward L. Montoro
Edward L. Montoro
Edward L. Montoro was an American film producer and distributor known for releasing exploitation films and B-movies during the 1970s and 1980s through his company Film Ventures International...
. Premiering on May 13, 1977, the movie reunited stars Christopher George
Christopher George
Christopher John George was an American television and film actor who was perhaps best known for his starring role in the 1966-1968 TV series The Rat Patrol. He was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1967 as Best TV Star for his performance in the series...
and Richard Jaeckel
Richard Jaeckel
Richard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
, director Girdler and producer Montoro from the previous year's hit film Grizzly
Grizzly (film)
Grizzly is a 1976 horror film directed by William Girdler. The film is about an 18-foot man-eating Grizzly bear that terrorizes a National Forest. The film stars Christopher George, Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel...
.
Plot
A battle for survival begins as a group of mountain hikers in Northern California encounter a chemically imbalanced forest. The recent depletion of the Earth's ozone layer causes the sun to shine powerful ultraviolet light carrying some kind of solar radiation that somehow causes all animals above the altitude of 5,000 feet to run amok and kill, which is very unfortunate for a group of hikers (including Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Leslie Neilsen) who get dropped off up there by helicopter just before a quarantine is announced for all the surrounding towns. This has a dramatic effect on the rest of the nation, turning common household pets and pests into vicious attackers.Over the course of the movie, multiple wild and dangerous animals stalk and attack the hikers, and eventually start picking them off. These include a Mountain Lion, a Grizzly Bear, a pack of Wolves and several Birds of Prey (Hawks, Falcons, Eagles and Owls).
One of the hikers, Paul Jenson (Leslie Neilsen) goes mad as he is one of the very few humans to fall victim to the solar radiation making all the animals crazy, and he eventually attacks the group killing one of them. He finally takes on a grizzly bear and the bear kills him.
The others manage to get below the 5,000 foot "radiation zone" area until they are trapped by several German Shepherds in an isolated cabin. Two of the hikers are killed by the vicious canines and the last three of the group members escape on a raft in a nearby river. They are rescued the next day as they float down river to a Park Rangers station.
The next day, groups of U.S. Army troops, wearing radiation suits and armed with flame-throwers and various automatic weapons, arrive to secure the areas. By then almost all the animals that went crazy are killed by the very same solar radiation that drove them mad in the first place. This implies that life for humans will return to normal fairly soon. At the end of the movie, a surviving hawk lunges at the screen just before the credits roll.
Cast
- Leslie NielsenLeslie NielsenLeslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
... Paul Jenson - Christopher GeorgeChristopher GeorgeChristopher John George was an American television and film actor who was perhaps best known for his starring role in the 1966-1968 TV series The Rat Patrol. He was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1967 as Best TV Star for his performance in the series...
... Steve Buckner - Lynda Day GeorgeLynda Day GeorgeFor other entertainers with similar names, see Linda George .Lynda Day George is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s...
... Terry Marsh - Richard JaeckelRichard JaeckelRichard Hanley Jaeckel was an American actor of film and television.-Life and career:Jaeckel was born in Long Beach, New York. A short, but tough guy, he played a variety of characters during his fifty years in movies & television and became one of Hollywood's best known character actors...
... Prof. Taylor MacGregor - Michael AnsaraMichael AnsaraMichael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
... Daniel Santee - Ruth RomanRuth RomanRuth Roman was an American actress. One of her most memorable roles was in the Alfred Hitchcock 1951 thriller Strangers on a Train....
... Mrs. Shirley Goodwyn - Jon CedarJon CedarJon Cedar was an American character actor, screenwriter and producer. Cedar's best known roles included Corporal Karl Langenscheidt on the CBS television series, Hogan's Heroes, which aired from 1965 to 1971...
... Frank Young - Paul ManteePaul ManteePaul Mantee is an American film and television actor.Mantee was born Paul Marianetti in San Francisco, California...
... Roy Moore - Walter Barnes ... Ranger Tucker
- Andrew StevensAndrew StevensAndrew Stevens is an American executive, film producer, director and former actor.-Early life:Andrew Stevens was born Herman Andrew Stephens in Memphis, Tennessee...
... Bob Denning