Is Wild Beasts a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?
Blu-ray Distributed By: Severin Films / February 7, 2017
For his final work, Godfather Of Mondo Franco E. Prosperi took on the ‘Nature Strikes Back’ genre and delivered perhaps the most shocking movie of his controversial career: When PCP gets into the water supply of a city zoo, the drug-crazed beasts – including tigers, lions, cheetahs, hyenas and elephants, as well as seeing eye dogs and sewer rats – go berserk and rampage through the streets of Rome. What follows is a terrifying mix of actual animal attacks (supervised by professional circus trainers) and over-the-top ‘80s Italian gore that remains the greatest eco-revenge shocker in EuroCult history. Lorraine De Selle (CANNIBAL FEROX, HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE PARK) and Ugo Bologna (NIGHTMARE CITY) star in this disturbing urban bloodbath, now digitally remastered for the first time ever and bursting with all-new Special Features!
Jamie’s Take 
(4 / 5)
The Italians have produced their fair share of horror films ranging from zombies, cannibals, and serial killers. Wild Beasts is something all together different. In fact, most U.S. audiences have never seen Wild Beasts until now with this brand new, gorgeous transfer thanks to the folks at Severin. With a very limited release in 1984, Wild Beasts was never shown in the U.S. Thankfully, Wild Beasts is well worth the wait.
Lorraine De Selle (House on the Edge of the Park, Cannibal Ferox) stars as Laura, a journalist who is involved with animal trainer and zoologist Rupert (Tony Di Leo) who is finding some strange happenings at his zoo. First off, momma tiger’s litter keeps biting her nipples every time they need a drink. The other lions and cheetah’s seem to be running about in their cages acting oddly, roaring for no reason. In the middle of the night, the elephants knock down the wall that holds them in, knocking out the power that locks all the animals in their cages, thus all breaking loose.
As these animals start tearing apart the zoo and soon break free into the city, Laura and Rupert find out that the zoo’s water was contaminated with PCP / angel dust and these drug crazed beasts need to be stopped and brought back to captivity…or killed.
Laura’s pre-teen daughter Suzy is off with friends on a school retreat (I am not entirely sure why she is with her classmates but I guess it doesn’t matter). The kids soon become trapped when a polar bear breaks into the school roaming the hallways, ready to eat / attack whoever is in sight. Making matters worse, the water contamination soon leaks into the school’s drinking water, making all the children violently insane.
Wild Beasts is an action-packed romp of actual animals shown interacting and at times attacking the human actors. In the spirit of 1981’s horror / drama Roar, there are no special effects or CGI, this is the real thing. In one scene a bear almost takes the head off actor Tony Di Leo and misses by inches. Actual live rats are shown biting some of the actors. The look of shock and pain on some of their faces can be easily seen. Wild Beasts is not a film that could ever be made now. If it was, it would be missing the very essence of what makes this such a fun, exciting and surprising film.
But be warned: Wild Beasts is still a fairly low-budget film and director Prosperi (he helped make the Mondo Cane films) can’t write and direct actors very well. There are some moments of great hilarity with actors delivering some God-awful lines with various expressions of shock, wonder and at times confusion. I think this adds to the charm and fun but some film snobs who are not used to this type of movie may disregard it as cheap and groan-inducing.
Severin’s blu-ray release looks good but due to the film’s low budget and the fact that almost the entire film is shot at night, the image at times comes off a little blurry and not so clear. Because this has never been released in the past, it’s hard for me to compare this blu-ray to say an older VHS tape or DVD but I am sure this transfer is miles above any other release overseas. One can also view the film dubbed or in the original Italian, both presented in 2.0 dolby digital. Given the frequent animal attacks, I would have loved a 5.1 track with sounds of the animals coming out from all different channels but this will have to suffice.
The blu-ray also contains many interviews such as interviews with the director, star Di Leo, editor Mario Morra (this interview is really long and I admit fast forwarding as he talks about his entire career) and animal wrangler Roberto Tiberti’s son, Carlo. There is also an international trailer for Wild Beasts as well which judging from the look of the trailer, Severin did a pretty damn good job on the transfer.
I do enjoy my nature-run-amok films and Wild Beasts ranks up there as maybe the most fun. Filled with blood and gore, some nudity and a strange cast (why is the inspector always eating a bag of junk food?) I found Wild Beasts to be a great Friday night horror film, maybe best watched with a group of non-judging friends and lots of alcohol.
Travis’ Take 
(3.5 / 5)
I bought this sight unseen, gambling that a movie about trippin’ animals was decent since blu-rays can still run a few bucks. Holy crap did this not disappoint. While Italians are mostly full of shit when they dance around filmed animal abuse, they certainly were never afraid to follow an idea no matter how off the wall or nonsensical it is. Prosperi takes what sounds like a joke concept and executes the exploitation perfectly. This makes Wild Beasts ridiculously entertaining.
No special effect can take the place of a real animal running amok in an urban setting, especially something enormous like a rampaging elephant. While there is some creative editing, you never lose the size and scope of these powerful animals as they attack. And honestly, I spent a lot of time wondering if there were any Landis-accidents on set, but that’s all part of the fun. Highly recommended.
Jimbo’s Take (3.5 / 5)
At the time of writing this review, Wild Beasts is available to stream on Amazon Prime!
Jamie & Travis pretty much say it all. And honestly, shouldn’t an action/horror film about zoo animals, hopped up on PCP, running amok, sell itself? Like Travis, I also bought this blu-ray, sight-unseen, and have not regretted it for one second.
Director Franco Prosperi has two major strengths. First, he is a master at documentary-style filmmaking. It’s how he gained his infamous reputation for the Mondo Cane films and it’s what makes Wild Beasts a thrilling ride. Second, he surrounds himself with very capable professionals. Whether we’re talking about the actors, editor, animal wranglers, or special effects team, Prosperi’s limitations are largely masked by the work of the people surrounding him.
Perhaps the film’s only weakness is the script. Dialogue is laughably absurd at times, and you never discover who or what is behind the PCP contamination. But all of that is irrelevant to Prosperi, who simply needs a plot device to give way to animal carnage. His focus is on filming set pieces that are conceived and executed practically. And what this film production captures is amazing!
Where else can you find a herd of elephants stampeding through a busy airport? Or a cheetah racing down a major metropolitan strip?
Furthermore, the production was granted permission to shoot in the subway with a trained tiger. Unfortunately when the tiger broke free of its staged area, the subway could not open for the morning commuters. Prosperi simply had his team shoot as much footage of the tiger roaming on top and around the train until the handlers could get it back under control. These kind of accidents, and Prosperi’s ability to capture footage”on the fly”, is what makes Wild Beasts feel genuine.
And as Jamie already addressed, Prosperi can’t direct actors because of his tendencies toward documentary filmmaking. So many of the human and scripted elements – dialogue, motivations, etc – don’t make logical sense. Little Suzy has an unbelievably foul mouth for such a little girl. And why is her dance class in the middle of the night?
The answer is more practical than structural. The animals required night shoots to minimize human contact. But in a film like this, where the animals are the stars, the humans become secondary and mostly serve as prey. Gore hounds should be pleased, because the practical effects team imagines a number of realistic and gruesome gore effects. So between the silly acting and flesh tearing, it is hard to root against these magnificent animals.
One group who will definitely cheer on the Wild Beasts are members of PETA and animal sympathizers. I’m not going to sugar coat this. Some of these animals are treated horribly. Rats appear to be burned to death. A lion is allowed to attack a cow in it’s pen. A hyena is let loose upon a kennel of pigs. In the disc’s supplemental features, the filmmakers claim that no animals were harmed. I highly doubt this assertion.
And speaking of supplements, Severin packs the disc with a ton of interviews (listed below). I want to piggy-back (no pun intended) off Jamie’s comments regarding editor Mario Morra’s interview. It is a very long and unfocused interview. However, it’s sweet and feels like I just sat down with grandpa and let him regale me with his tales of old.
Even if you aren’t enthralled by the plot, I defy you to get bored as these Wild Beasts all perform in real domestic areas populated by humans. You will will never, ever see another film made like this again. It is unique and Severin Films has created an incredible blu-ray that expands this films legacy. But if you’re still not ready to buy, Amazon Prime members should stream it while available.
Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?
| Jamie: |  (4.0 / 5) |
| Travis: |  (3.5 / 5) |
| Jimbo: | (3.5 / 5) |
| Average: |  (3.7 / 5) |
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Special Features
- Altered Beasts: Interview With Director Franco E. Prosperi
- Wild Tony: Interview With Actor Tony Di Leo
- Cut After Cut: Interview With Editor & Mondo Filmmaker Mario Morra
- The Circus is in Town: Interview With Animal Wrangler Roberto Tiberti’s son, Carlo Tiberti
- House Of Wild Beasts: A Visit to the Home of Franco E. Prosperi
- International Trailer
