Down on his luck working class zhlub Jarrett (a likable portrayal by Mark Blucas) meets and falls for lovely and enticing, but dangerous and mysterious young minx Nora (a nicely sassy performance by the alluring Nicki Aycox). Nora draws Jarrett into a dark and frightening netherworld where the predatory and animalistic side of human nature gets unleashed. Complications ensue when Nora's feral and possessive lover Vic (robustly played with lip-licking nasty relish by Naveen Andrews) arrives in town looking for her. Director Douglas Aarniokoski, working from an engrossing script by Craif Spector, relates the compelling story at a snappy pace, brings a dazzling hyper-kinetic style to the entertainingly low-rent material, firmly grounds the fantastic premise in a plausibly gritty and downbeat blue collar environment, delivers a handy helping of graphic gore, and provides a substantial amount of tasty female nudity and sizzling soft-core sex that gives the picture an extra scorching erotic charge. The sound acting from the capable cast helps a lot, with especially praiseworthy work by Blucas, Aycox, and Andrews in the leads, with sturdy support from Eva Amurri as sweet and smitten barmaid Jane, Andy Comeau as amiable bar owner Jules, and Bart Johnson as Jarrett's jerky boss Vaughn. The polished cinematography by Mark Williams gives the movie an impressive glossy look. Alan Brewer's throbbing tribal score does the pulse-pounding trick. Only the shoddy CGI monster f/x leave something to be desired. Good rubbishy fun.
Review of Animals
