A group of friends out for a day of hiking come across something in the woods that is ferocious, fast, smart, and hungry for their flesh.

The survivors escape to an isolated cabin and meet up with three others that are hiding out.  But the beast is smart, and eventually will get in; when the cabin-mates can’t agree on an escape plan they begin to turn on each other, making the environment almost as horrendous as facing the monster outside.

Creature features are extremely fun, if done well.  Many things can make or break one of these films, but the main fail in the genre is a weak monster.  ANIMAL is an extraordinary film with a creature that is truly terrifying, looks terrifying, is written and portrayed terrifying, and the creature design is genius.

There is no military character or scientist that shows up explaining the creature or a way to kill it.  It’s just a group of normal people fighting for their lives with no knowledge of what they are up against.  This is a truly frightening situation, and certainly a situation that causes friction amongst the survivors.

The cast is amazing, giving special praise to Amaury Nolasco as Douglas, who you start to hate but then realize he maybe the only one that will get some of them out alive.  I had a love/hate relationship with the character, and made the overall tension of the film much thicker.

For the gore hounds out there, there is some good carnage, and it looks awesome.

Overall the film is certainly one of the top creature features I’ve seen in awhile, with some great story twists and turns, and an ending I truly loved.  Check this one out if you dig a good creature feature or if your just in the mood for a great flick!