Animal (2014 film)

The film opens with two married couples - Carl and Vicky, and Douglas and Barbara - being chased through the woods by a mysterious beast. Barbara is killed.

Sometime later, five college students - Alissa, her boyfriend Matt, her stepbrother Jeff, Jeff's girlfriend Mandy, and their friend Sean, arrive in the forest to hike. Jeff gets the others to try to find a waterfall he and Alissa used to go to as kids, but they end up taking so long that it is nighttime by the time they start back toward the car. Along the way, they discover the remains of Barbara's body and encounter the same monster that killed her. It chases them near a cabin and kills Jeff.

In the cabin, they find Carl, Vicky, and Douglas, who have sealed the windows and walls with boards to protect themselves against the creature. While Carl and Vicky are hopeful that they will be rescued soon, Douglas is bitterly cynical. The creature almost breaks into the house, but they hold it off. Matt volunteers to take a walkie-talkie and make a run for the car while Carl and Sean keep watch for the creature. However, his screams are heard on the walkie-talkie. Douglas attempts to board up the entrance, leaving Sean and Carl to die outside, but the girls help them get in through the back. The group ties Douglas to the stairs, no longer trusting him.

Mandy confides in Alissa that she is pregnant while Sean confesses to Mandy that he and Jeff were having an affair. The group discovers Matt, barely alive, in the cellar, along with the animal. They get Matt upstairs but Carl is killed. Douglas proposes that the group let the animal eat Matt, who is dying, so they can escape. The group refuses and decides to trap the animal inside the house and burn it down. However, when they untie Douglas to help, he beats Matt to death, calling the others weak. The animal breaks in and kills Douglas. As it eats his body, the others spread kerosene throughout the house. Alissa lures the animal into the trap. She sets the fire and burns the monster to death.

However, a second animal suddenly appears in the cellar and kills Sean and Vicky. Mandy and Alissa flee into the woods. Alissa is killed but Mandy is able to reach the car. The second animal attacks her and Mandy manages to kill it by running its head over with the car. She escapes and drives away, sobbing.

The final scene shows a third animal sniffing at the second animal's corpse, where it grunts aggressively, suggesting a call to the pack.

• Elizabeth Gillies as Mandy
• Keke Palmer as Alissa
• Jeremy Sumpter as Matt
• Parker Young as Jeff
• Paul Iacono as Sean
• Amaury Nolasco as Douglas
• Thorsten Kaye as Carl
• Joey Lauren Adams as Vicky
• Eve as Barbara

The film was shot in Manchester, Connecticut.[4]

The film holds a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 7 reviews.[5]

Shock Till You Drop and Bloody Disgusting both panned the film,[6] and Shock Till You Drop stated that the movie was "a waste of a good, old-fashioned creature."[7] We Got This Covered gave Animal a slightly more positive rating and commented that "Animal has enough carnage to appease more forgiving horror fans, but despite a quick pace and brutal kills, it's repetition that truly kills this beast."[8]

• Official website
• Animal at IMDb
• Animal at Rotten Tomatoes