Director – Eligio Herrero (Jane, Mi Peguena Salvaje)
Starring – Carole Kirkham (Panic Beats, I Love Hitler), Geir Indvard (Jane, Mi Peguena Salvaje), and Jose Yepes (The Sea Serpent, Revenge of the Black Wolf)
Release Date – 1983
Rating – 3.5/5
Blu Release – 3/5
Mondo Macabro has brought some strange and unique films to genre fans and film collectors over the years but I think I found their oddest release to date. Several weeks ago I received the film Human Animals from CAV and Mondo Macabro to review. I immediately fell in love with the artwork for the blu and my mind immediately started racing.
My imagination was running overtime thinking of possible scenarios for the film. I wanted to start my MM marathon with this one but decided to go with Beyond Erotica. As soon as I finished it I went ahead and tossed in Human Animals. Like always, I want to thank CAV and Mondo Macabro for sending this one my way.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a brother, sister, and a man who awaken in a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust. They begin a trek to find civilization and soon cross paths a dog before eventually coming to stop in an oasis. With plenty of vegetation, wild game, and shelter they make a home for themselves. Incest, bestiality, and jealousy all become a part of their lives and eventually they start tearing themselves apart. **Spoiler Alert**
Human Animals is one of the weirdest post-apocalyptic films I have ever seen. It’s completely void of dialogue and the story itself is still able to be told without uttering a single word. It’s a different spin on the end of the world and a movie that I think exploitation fans would fucking love.
The “acting” in this one is a little different than traditional films. The cast has no dialogue but they are able to communicate with facial expressions, body mannerisms, and with sounds. I really enjoyed the casting and how they approached such a strange and unusual film. The cast is small but their on screen chemistry is insane.
The story for this one is simple but is explores so many themes that are never explored among other post-apocalyptic films. We follow three young adults who have survived a nuclear holocaust. Isolation leads to incest, beastiality, and jealousy as they scavenge, farm, and hunt to survive. I fucking loved the unique spin on this style of story. It made the film very unpredictable, overly sexual, and very enjoyable. I couldn’t imagine a film like this being made today but as an early 80s exploitation film it’s amazing. It has solid pacing and the scenes work for the film even though there is no dialogue.
Finally, the film has some gruesome scenes of animals being field dressed but that’s honestly about the extent of the blood. A few spots here or there throughout the film but don’t expect bloody or gruesome deaths that most of us crave. Overall, Human Animals is a fucking wild and weird film that is an unusual take on the end of the world. I highly recommend it and the Mondo Macabro release is the only way to watch it.
Special Features:
Brand new 4k transfer from film negative.
Interview with film’s director-writer-producer.
Mondo Macabro previews
