Director William Girdler never lived long enough to see his career soar to heights they could have. Known for making several movies in the exploitation genre like THREE ON A MEATHOOL, ABBY, GRIZZLY and THE MANITOU, he died in a helicopter accident while scouting locations for his next film. He left behind only 9 films in total. Among those was the environmental/animals attack film DAY OF THE ANIMALS.
A group of tourists are about to set out on a days long hiking trip in a park in northern California. Led by guide Steve Buckner (Christopher George) they include Prof. MacGregor (Richard Jaeckel) an anthropologist, Paul Jenson (Leslie Nielsen) an advertising exec, a teenage couple Beth Hughes and Bob Denning (Kathleen Bracken and Andrew Stevens), a wealthy older woman Shirley (Ruth Roman) and he son Johnny (Bobby Porter), a former pro football player Roy Moore who has cancer (Paul Mantee), bickering married couple Frank and Mandy Young (Jon Cedar and Susan Backlinie) and Daniel Santee, a Native American guide. Before heading out a park ranger tells Buckner that there’s been some unusual animal attacks in the area and asks him to call it off but he keeps the group moving.
Not long after the group takes off word comes in that a depletion in the ozone levels is affecting wildlife above a certain level in the landscape. By then the park ranger has no way of reaching Buckner and his party.
As the group travels they are followed by a hawk that’s apparently keeping a close eye on them. We also see various other animals that would never associate with one another creeping around as well, everything from a bear to wolves to snakes.
Eventually as their first day comes to an end they come across a campsite with a fire going and coffee on the fire with no one to be seen. Buckner assures them it is more likely than not they went off into the woods and got lost but will return. As it grows dark Santee is feels that something strange is going on and share’s his concerns with Buckner. Buckner asks him not to say anything and they agree to keep watch that night. Even so a wolf comes into their campground and attacks Mandy, leaving her with a severe bite.
The next day the group separates with Frank taking his wife Mandy down to a nearby ranger tower so she can get medical help while the rest of the group continues to move up the mountain towards the next stop where food is waiting for them scheduled to be dropped in by helicopter. When they get to the food it’s been destroyed or eaten by animals. Jenson begins insulting and calling out Buckner as incompetent. Soon after he splits the group with some following him and the rest remaining with Buckner.
What follows is a world gone wild where this ozone depletion affects both man and beast. The animals work together to attack the would be campers. Jensen begins to act as if in a rage demanding to be almost worshiped by those who went with him. And the effects of the ozone level on the animals reach all the way back into town.
Movies about the environment and pollution having an effect on animals and wildlife have been a staple of the horror genre for years. Their frequency increased after the push for the environment in the 60s and 70s. They made good story fodder though and we saw everything from rampaging frogs to 30 ft. tall rabbits. This movie is a bit more subtle than those but effectively uses the concept of animals working together to take their revenge.
Girdler may have made movies on a low budget but they never
looked like they were. His use of the camera to present a great looking film
combined with some nice editing always made the films look like they were major
productions. His casts were largely made up of actors on the way up or the way
down but he always got performances from them that were believable and in a
film like this that always mattered. It’s sad to think that he only left behind
9 movies. One can only imagine what he was capable of if he’d had a bigger
budget. In the meantime this one and the other 8 are enjoyable films worth
watching.
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