Film

Day of the Animals

Name: Day of the Animals
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror
Released: 1977
Cast: Christopher George, Leslie Nielsen, Lynda Day George, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara

A 1977 creature-horror film where ozone depletion drives animals berserk, trapping hikers in the wilderness. It's sincere disaster-movie plotting meets nature-run-amok thrills, with genuine tension punctuated by dated special effects and an ensemble cast doing earnest work. Made for people who love 70s genre cinema, even when the seams show.

TMDb rating

2.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you have a soft spot for lean, earnest 1970s creature features where the menace is nature turning on ordinary people and the cast plays it straight.

Skip it if the creature action is the whole engine, so if you want tight plotting or sharp scares, the uneven pacing and dated staging will test you.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a lean ninety-seven minutes, with a slow setup in the mountains before the animals start to matter, then a steady, escalating push.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Poseidon Adventure1972

Disaster spectacle with an ensemble cast fighting against overwhelming odds in an enclosed, deteriorating environment. The 70s mastered this particular anxiety, and it's relentlessly entertaining.

But The pacing drags in places, and some of the emotional beats feel manipulative by modern standards.

Grizzly1976

A killer-bear film that shares DNA with Day of the Animals—nature as threat, a community in peril, that specific 70s tone where B-movies took their premises seriously. Genuinely tense.

But The bear effects are pretty rough, and the film knows it but pushes forward anyway. If you need seamless spectacle, this isn't it.

The Swarm1978

Killer bees invade America. Another creature-feature that assembles a diverse cast to battle nature gone wrong. It's operatic in its ambition and completely unafraid to be trashy fun.

But Michael Caine is in it, and he clearly wishes he was elsewhere. The dialogue borders on parody, which may or may not be intentional.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Day of the Animals

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Prophecy1979

Both are sincere environmental parables wrapped in creature-feature plotting. Nature as punishment for human carelessness, delivered through survival-horror mechanics and an ensemble fighting something incomprehensible.

A mutant bear, created by mercury pollution, hunts loggers and their families in the Canadian wilderness. It's shot like a serious environmental drama that accidentally becomes creature-horror. That tonal collision is exactly what makes it work.

But The bear suit is spectacularly unconvincing, and by the final act you're watching an oversized plush toy maul people. If you need your monsters believable, this will break you.

The Happening2008

Plants release a neurotoxin that makes humans self-destruct. It's a nature-strikes-back film that never flinches from its premise, however absurd. Shyamalan commits fully to the bit.

But Many find it ridiculous rather than frightening, and Mark Wahlberg's performance won't be for everyone. It's genuinely divisive.

The Lair of the White Worm1988

Ken Russell's unhinged adaptation of Bram Stoker about a snake goddess in English countryside. It's gorgeously weird, sexually charged, and operates by dream logic rather than plot logic.

But The narrative is deliberately baroque and incoherent. It's an experience more than a story. Some will find it profound, others just confused.

The Food of the Gods1976

Giant wasps, rats and chickens attack an island community after being fed experimental growth formula. It has the same earnest-exploitation energy as Day of the Animals and zero irony.

But The creatures range from unconvincing to unintentionally funny. The film is aware it's B-movie material but doesn't wink at the camera.

The Seventh Seal1957

Bergman's masterpiece about mortality and faith during the plague. A man plays chess with Death. It's the reference point for contemplative, philosophical horror and sci-fi cinema.

But It's glacially paced and demands real emotional investment. Black and white, Swedish, deliberately difficult. Not comfort viewing.

The Birds1963

Both trust the audience to feel dread from the real world turned hostile. Animals attacking humans, but framed as cosmic wrong rather than monster-movie spectacle. The threat isn't malicious—it's indifferent, which is worse.

Hitchcock's masterclass in suspense: ordinary birds, no explanation, escalating violence. It's methodical, precise, utterly controlled. The attacks are terrifying because they're intimate and personal.

But There's no monster, no resolution, no comforting explanation. The ambiguity infuriates some viewers. Also, seagulls attacking your face is not fun for everyone.