Animal Among Us

Really not awful. Like a TV movie. Camera, light are ok to a professional level not like the usual indie wannabe film makers. My subwoofer liked the deep bass which was the best thing about this movie. This in the days of blockbuster brick and mortar would be a filler on the shelves. Had to be very poorly produced to be a 1 star; this is edited well and uses proper lighting for night scenes with actors that appear to be trained at a college level so gets a 3. Watch if you're bored but not good enough for a planned night in.

The average of ten zillion reviews should make this his half a star tops. No one or thing in this is worth your time or $. Your stucco ceiling staring is more fun.

"Animal Among Us" starts out as a classic horror with decent characters, and interesting set-up points. There is a strong push to sell it as a creature feature. Which is done pretty well. Unfortunately, other than a few thrilling moments, the first hour drags, and the energy is almost non-existent. Which is disappointing considering it had an exciting start.

The acting is good. A couple of the characters seem to stall out somewhat, mostly the stereotyping does more to trip up an otherwise straightforward thriller, than they do to advance any story. It is clear these were put in as simple fodder for the killer. Still, there is some nice character interaction, quality acting, and good drama in a lot of the film.

The horror was a bit of a disappointment. There was some good kills that happened in "Animal Among Us" but they happen so quickly that you never get to enjoy those moments. Other than that, the horror elements offer atmospheric scenes of traditional creature horror. Until you get to the last third of the film. A surprise reveal, a horror trope switch off , and then a few more twists just muddle the story.

Overall "Animal Among Us" disappointed me a bit. It had a interesting start, great tease of some indie creature horror, and promise of some classic storytelling. Unfortunately the film isn't what I thought it was going to be, the pace was sketchy, and far too many surprise twists just ruined the entertainment value. It will have its fans, "Animal Among Us" has moments that work, but I have seen this type of gimmick ending done better without hurting the story.

I read the naysayer reviews and thought they may have missed the point. This a fun twist on the camp murders. Some of the dialogue was silly. Some of the acting was overblown. But it was fun. It also had some comedic relief throughout. Overall it's not high art but it's worth a watch.

A summer camp in the northeastern USA is reopening after it was shutdown 15 years earlier due to the mysterious deaths of a couple girls. The author of the book that made the camp famous is invited out for the celebration (Christian Oliver), but people start dying again. Larisa Oleynik & Christine Donlon run the camp while Don Frye plays their stepfather. Erin Daniels appears as the author's wife.

"Animal Among Us" (2019) is an Indie horror in the summer camp murder mold à la "Madman" (1981) and, of course, the 80's "Friday the 13th" flicks. Unlike those movies, however, it's less of a slasher and the last act is twistier, which some criticize as "convoluted."

The average rating on the internet is excessively low and simply not accurate. This is a well-made low-budget camp slasher with defined characters, an atmospheric score, a fairly compelling mystery and all-around proficient filmmaking for what it is. There's a bit o' humor, mostly surrounding the campy Bigfoot-hunter, but otherwise it's a relatively serious murder mystery taking place at a summer camp.

On the feminine front, Christine Donlon has a striking face & eyes while Whitney Davis is an alluring Latina. Jasmine Dustin, Camryn Molnar and Gracie Young are also on hand (the latter two in very brief roles) but more coulda been done with them.

The film runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Lebanon, Ohio, about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati, with some scenes done in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B-