Before there was Zoo, there was Franco (Mondo Cane)
Prosperi’s Wild Beasts. It’s almost like
a zombie movie, but with wild animals instead of undead flesh-eaters. As far as killer animal movies go, it’s one of the best ever made.
Animals at a zoo in “a large European city” drink contaminated
water and turn feral. They kill some
zookeepers, escape, and run wild in the city.
Turns out, the shit they drank was PCP!?! No wonder they animals have all gone ape!
Prosperi’s work on the Mondo Cane movies came in handy. His documentarian’s eye makes the animal
attacks seem authentic. The scenes of
tigers, lions, and dogs turning vicious are captured in such a way that it
feels like it could ALMOST happen.
Sure, many of the situations are ludicrous. Where else can you see a polar bear attacking
children? Or a cheetah chasing a Volkswagen
Beetle? Or elephants causing a plane
crash? However, Prosperi’s shocking
sensibilities really come into play during the opening scene where zoo workers
chop up a horse and feed it to the tigers.
Prosperi also knows how to orchestrate the usual B movie
mayhem like a pro. The scene of giant rats
attacking a couple necking in an alley is a lot of fun. Some of his touches are downright surreal. The sequence where a herd of cattle stampede
through a deserted city street is something Salvador Dali might’ve enjoyed.
Just knowing Prosperi did all of this without the aid of
computers makes it that much cooler. When
you see rampaging elephants breaking down a wall, they’re really doing it. Sure, the wall was probably Styrofoam or something,
but you still have to DIRECT the elephants, so they hit their marks. That takes talent, folks.
AKA: Savage
Beasts. AKA: The Wild Beasts Will Get You!
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