Animal Among Us

Rubbish, waste, rotten food,dirty nappies, and this movie

Low budget, but well done. A nice, original twist on a classic trope that was very well presented. There's good acting, along with the classic campy nonsense. A decent "monster". And some really interesting plot twists I didn't expect. An enjoyable little film.

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-

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.

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.