My Animal

My Animal is a movie about a subject matter I already like. Yet I was completely uninterested and bored immediately and throughout. I even stuck it out to the end in hopes of at least one cool scene or even a moment. But nope, it's just nothing, through and through.

There is barely enough substance for a short story, let alone a feature length film. Character motivations and decisions seem random and unearned. And the messaging is heavy-handed and obvious.

The only positive I can think of is the general tone, driven by the music and some cool trippy visuals. But that isn't nearly enough to warrant the time it takes to watch this movie. (1 viewing, 12/13/2023)

Worth watching. Very 80s vibes. Incredible visuals and camera shots. Indie arthouse themes drive this horror story. Some light x-rated scenes. Actors did a great job. Story is decent. You will be transported back to 1988. I loved most of it.

The action or werewolf sequences are not special effect heavy. Nor need be. The emphasis here is on the characters. Each figuring themselves out in a cold cold world. Cold weather and cold people. Cold family members and cold friends. Many relatable moments. Especially looking back in time from our current acceptances in societies. The suspense builds slowly with each passing full moon.

Only suggestion would be to cut it a bit shorter. I am glad I watched it and really enjoyed it. Very impressed.

Trying to live with a deadly secret, a teenage girl struggling with her sexuality and the monstrous secret within her tries to strike up a romance with a new girl in town that shares her interests, but as the dark secret threatens to put everything in danger forcing her to fight for what she wants.

This was a fairly enjoyable if somewhat difficult to label as a genre outing. The main focus here is on the stellar coming-of-age storyline, managing to balance a fantastic setup involving the series of issues presented to her as a series of obstacles to overcome. With the build-up here involving the struggles of being a loner teenager in a small town such as this, growing up in that type of conservative environment while balancing the growing realization of her feelings for her neighbor with the usual trial and tribulations of growing up, and doing all that while trying to keep as dark a secret as her lycanthropic origins come to the forefront is a massively engaging way to go about this. Combining it all with the other family dynamics utilized here generates the kind of immersive drama that gives this a stand-out storyline to start with. On top of that, there's also a lot to like with the influx of artfully-accomplished scenes that focus on the inner nature of the werewolf within her. Taking place in neon-soaked sequences in a blank, black space where her carnal desires and experiences are presented, the hallucinatory approach taken here is masterfully accomplished. This ends up creating a genuinely enthralling series of setpieces that bring about a more erotic tone than expected even if they bring about the main issue with the film in that it's hard to call this a genuine genre effort. The dramatic approach and lack of traditional genre thrills for such an unwieldy running time cause this to drag on way too much rather than focus on the desired carnage and bloodletting most would desire. It's entirely the wrong attitude since it has different aspirations in mind but that should still be mentioned here.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity, sexual scenes, and Violence.

This was an excellent movie. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but it absolutely delivered. The pacing was interesting, like the idea was to make you focus so much on the relationships between the characters that you forget the lead has a problem most young adults probably won't encounter.

The atmosphere is brilliant and dreadful. The plot is absolutely wild, and the acting was far, far better than it had any right to be. I got serious Meryl Streep vibes from Bobbi Salvör Menuez.

If you're considering it, give it a chance. Some of the scenes were a bit weird but overall, I really enjoyed it.

Right, well I was under the impression that I would be in for a werewolf movie of sorts, as I sat down to watch the 2023 movie "My Animal" from writer Jae Matthews and director Jacqueline Castel. However, I have to admit that I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down and watching it, so I didn't exactly know what I was getting into here.

This movie failed to capture my interest, especially since the movie's narrative was slow paced, the visuals were sort of surreal, and it wasn't exactly the type of werewolf movie that I had hoped for. And I have to admit that the way that writer Jae Matthews concocted the script and storyline just didn't appeal much to my liking.

The only familiar face on the cast list for me was Stephen McHattie. The acting performances in "My Animal" were actually fair enough, despite the fact that the movie's plot and script utterly failed to entertain me.

Visually, then director Jacqueline Castel didn't deliver a movie that tickled me in the right places.

My rating of "My Animal" lands on a two out of ten stars. And this is definitely not a movie that I will pick up a second time.