Pretty Good

Excellent but underrated film

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The water supply for a large city zoo becomes contaminated with PCP, and the animals go crazy and get loose.Director Prosperi began his career as an assistant director with Mario Bava and with whom he also wrote several screenplays. In 1966, he made his directorial debut, credited as Frank Shannon, with the thriller film, "Tecnica di un omicidio" and over the years he built a solid reputation as a director of crime-action films. He also occasionally directed comedies (with Lando Buzzanca or Alighiero Noschese) and, in the final stage of his career, at the beginning of the 1980s, several low-budget sword and sorcery films.This is not among his best-known works, or at least it was not one of them until Severin picked it up. Quite possibly, it will become better known since they have put so much into their release. At the end of the day, it is a very average film, even by cheesy Italian horror standards, but it could find a cult following for those who are into the early 1980s horror scene 9which is a large group).

Gloriously insane "Nature Strikes Back" cinema from director Franco Prosperi, the "Godfather of Mondo", who delivers action and violence in very high doses, and has a body count...well, to die for. Much like many entries in this genre, the animal rampage is the result of human screw up. High levels of PCP contaminate the water supply of a zoo in a major European city. As a result, all the animals - including tigers, bears, and elephants - go crazy, bust out of the zoo, and terrorize the unlucky citizens of this city. The hero on the case is zoo employee Rupert "Rip" Berner (John Aldrich, in his only feature film appearance), and his leading lady is journalist Laura Schwarz (French beauty Lorraine De Selle, "Cannibal Ferox").Prosperi decides early on, to Hell with good taste and common sense, and gives us a messed up horror film to cherish. Among our colorful characters are a daughter (Louisa Lloyd) who mocks and disrespects her mother, and a police inspector (Ugo Bologna, "Nightmare City") who obviously really likes to snack. The animal action is definitely first rate, and the various set pieces are comprised of actual animal attacks choreographed and supervised by circus trainers, and special effects. The delightful highlights include a cheetah attempting to run down a potential victim who's driving away, and elephants suffocating one person with a trunk, and stomping another chumps' head flat. (There really is some first rate gore here, as witness the after effects of a massacre by rats.) Prosperi wastes very little time in getting to the good stuff, and there's an amusing subplot late in the game involving that contaminated water.Aldrich is a cheesy looking but entertaining guy, De Selle makes for a pretty decent heroine, young Lloyd is a definite hoot, and Bologna is a treat to watch.If you love this genre, and haven't seen this one yet, I recommend you see it as soon as possible.Eight out of 10.

Various dangerous animals in a zoo are whipped up into a psychotic rage after their drinking water gets contaminated with PCP. Serious problems ensue when said animals escape and embark on a homicidal rampage.Writer/director Franco Prosperi keeps the delightfully outrageous story zipping along at a snappy pace, stages the astounding animal attack set pieces with rip-snorting gusto, builds plenty of tension, delivers oodles of deliciously over-the-top gore, and astutely captures a delirious sense of escalating frenzy. Among the gloriously insane moments to be relished herein are a horny couple being attacked and eaten by rats (gratuitous babe boobs alert!), a cheetah chasing a speeding car down a street, an elephant crushing a woman's head, a tiger running rampant on a subway train, and a polar bear terrorizing a school full of obnoxious screaming kids. Guglielmo Mancori's glossy cinematography provides a neat polished look. Daniele Patucchi's funky-throbbing score hits the right-on groovy spot. Amazing lunacy.

Franco Prosperi's "The Wild Beasts" is a fairly routine Italian horror flick about nature gone nuts.The real animals were used in this movie and in many cases killed just for the sake of this Italian shocker.The animal attack scenes are very gory,but the photography by Franco Delli Colli is too murky.The use of animals in "The Wild Beasts" is quite stunning,unfortunately the acting is truly horrible.Still it's nice to see Lorraine De Selle of "Cannibal Ferox" and "House on the Edge of the Park" fame in the main role as a professor.There is also a really tense sequence where a cheetah chases a VW bug down the road and a scene where some rats are burned off a windshield in slow motion.So if you are a fan of Italian horror cinema give this one a look.7 out of 10.