The sex industry and slave trade are a problem all over the world. For the most part, they go hand in hand. It is mainly a problem in third world countries, but most people do not realize that it is happening in their own back yard not just in the United States, but all over Europe and South America. It is estimated that there are over fifteen thousand people trafficked into the United States each year who are forced into a life of prostitution or slave labor. However, its not known how many missing children and people from the United States end up being sent overseas against their will and forced into the world of slave labor and prostitution.
LIVE ANIMALS is a film that I thought would take this issue and effectively use it as a means to not only scare people that this can happen to then, but also make people more aware of their surroundings and the issue as a whole. In some effects, it did, but as a whole, the film went from one that could have been effective to one that simply wanted to be a gore-filled horror story along the lines of HOSTEL and SAW.
LIVE ANIMALS is about a group of friends who go on vacation in a remote cabin deep within the country. Once there, they settle in for the night. A group of men breaks in, tranquilizes the group using blowguns and kills the ones who fight back. The next day, the survivors awaken chained and enclosed in separate animal stalls in a barn. When their captor and his group of cronies arrive at the barn, they immediately make an example of one them, and talk about the importance of breaking in a human being to do whatever they want. This goes on for a bit and the film turns into a rebellion of sorts once a man shows up and buys one of the girls held captive. She is then “boxed up” and ready to be shipped overseas. The remaining few band together to find a way to escape and do so. However, as it always seems to be in predicable style, It turns into a game of cat and mouse with a little twist thrown in there, and the bloodbath and torture continue.
There were some good reviews to go along with the press release, but I am not a big fan of this torture porn/horror trend, which films like HOSTEL and SAW are considered to be. Do not get me wrong: I liked the first SAW movie, but that is about it. With LIVE ANIMALS covering an issue like the slave trade, I figured they could use the issue and make people think about it well after the film was over. However, the filmmakers failed to do so. It could have been a film that made people think about how easy it is for someone to take all your freedoms away. Instead, it just takes the audience though a basic horror film with an unpredictable ending that just screams sequel. The script at best is mediocre. There is very little character development and the story just falls apart towards the end only to find itself again in the last frame of the film.
I cannot bash the film’s production values as I found them to be decent. Although the sets are all on-location shoots, they work well for what the film is trying to accomplish. The make-up and visual effects are very good, and the acting is decent, as well. The lighting could be better, but overall the film is put together decently.
The DVD comes with a few features which include the film in widescreen format. There is a featurette on the disc titled “A View from the Crate: The Making of Live Animals”, Deleted Scenes and another feature called “Behind the Digital Curtain”.
Overall, I really thought this film had taken the idea of exploiting the insides of the slave trade here in the United States and could have made a film that shows the horror of what can being going on right here in the remote parts of North America. However, what we get is a film the relies more on being a blood bath and ignoring an issue which they could have used to not only scare the audience, but could have had them thinking about the film well after they watch it. As for myself, It had a minor effect on me, but lost me after the crate scene. This film could have been so much more than it was.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
