Search - Live Animals on DVD

Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL
Reviewed on 1/23/2011...

An awful olw budget attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Torture/Porn (Hostel, Wolf Creek, etc) sub-genre of Horror. It has no actual story to speak of and exists as a pointless excuse to highlight bad effects shots. While not as horrible as Murder Set Pieces (which is totally incompetent filmmaking) it does come close. The awful quality of the directing, acting, score and effects make this hard to watch and not at all entertaining.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jasmine K. (jazztastic) from SCRANTON, PA
Reviewed on 4/24/2010...

I rented this movie on a whim, thinking it sounded like a fascinating film. Let me tell you, I was highly disappointed. If you're looking for something similar to Saw or Hostel, you won't find it here. There is really only one really sadistic scene and it barely lasts longer than a couple of minutes. The plot has so many holes and the acting is beyond terrible. I wouldn't suggest this film to my worst enemy.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Bland, ineffective horror

Kyle Johnson | Dayton, Ohio | 10/08/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"A friend of mine rented this for sheer giggles and we watched it on a lark. Based on the premise and the package, I got exactly what I expected: an impossibly further low-rent attempt at capturing that same magic woven by modern horror cinema...ahem...powerhouses such as Saw and Hostel. What I got was a micro-budget trash-fest, complete with hapless actors and a slipshod script. I got a gaggle of characters I couldn't have cared less about, no plot to be found, and one of the worst examples of prosthetic make-up I've ever seen, that being a character boasting a crescent-shaped scar on his face, which looks more like a smeared mess of melted Snickers bars.

I find these movies offensive. I find them offensive because they are unoriginal. I find them offensive because it really showcases that young filmmakers are not concerned with trying to scare the audience anymore, instead finding themselves content to throw as many breasts and buckets of blood at you as they can in a (mercifully) short 90 minute-or-so runtime. That so many of these filmmakers are not striving to grasp that brass ring and create something, instead happy to grab last week's leftovers and regurgitate it all over your television in a poorly-shot mess. That these filmmakers and their equally abysmal screenwriters don't mind depriving their narrative of a discernible point of interest, an end-goal, characters to care about or root for, and feel justified in calling their happy little nothing a story by throwing in a "gotcha" twist toward the end--even if you saw it coming a mile away because, and let's face it, that's what everybody else is doing, and that means it has to be an effective tool in the storytelling process, yeah?

And even if I were that guy, that fella who is first in line at the cinema for the opening of the twelfth Saw sequel, drenching my popcorn in red Karo syrup and gasping orgasmically at the sight of paper-thin characters miraculously made full and packed with meat and bone if only for the purposes of it being spilled on some warehouse's floor, I would still be offended by this film. Because it does what no movie that has nothing going for it other than that promise that its content will shock and revile you by way of sheer brutality should do. It is simply boring and useless. And by that amazingly low standard of trying to be the red-headed stepchild of something that is unabashedly unimportant and totally reliant on gross-out moments, this film cannot be seen as anything less than an utter and complete failure."

Pretty decent for a cheap Hostel rip-off

D. Gorman "Crystalline Structure M | 10/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"okay, for an american redneck rip-off of the Hostel movies, this was not too bad. so, somewhere down south a redneck captures 20-something-year-olds, tortures them, breaks them, crates them up, then sells them as slaves...a pretty blatant rip-off of the Hostel movie genre, but not as elegant (in that bloody, gruesome way). this movie was still fairly well done. i didn't really recognize any of the actors, but i don't get to the movies as often as i should. the premise is pretty much the same as all the movies in this new shock genre. like the Hostel movies, this flick would have benefitted from a lot more torture and gore...there was a certain amount of blood, which was nice...a little bit of brief nudity...there were some brutal and nasty moments. the premise was handled well, with a good script and acting on everyone's part that pulled the story together. i've seen other Saw and Hostel movie rip-offs lately that really failed to pull off their original intent. this movie was fairly well written, acted admirably by everyone...and although more torture and mayhem would have been nice, it is a flick that deserves to be seen. the movie starts with the kids getting captured during a party that starts outside...after opening with a glimpse at the main antagonist...the capture scene was very good...then after the kids see what they are up against, of course they try to escape. i won't tell you whether or not they succeed...i don't want to ruin the movie for you. so to wrap up, as far as the new influx of shock movies based on the popularity of Saw & Hostel goes, this is a pretty decent rip-off of the genre...it's not as good or elegant as Hostel...it certainly isn't as good or as brutal or nasty as any of the Saw movies...but it is a decent stab at the genre...fairly well written, directed and acted...where Hostel deserves 8 out of 10 chainsaws, and the original Saw deserves 10 out of 10 chainsaws...in my psycho rating, i would almost give this flick a solid 7 chainsaws...almost. pretty good...grab a chainsaw and watch it with someone you love."

Saw this at the hollywood film fest

Kenneth Patrick | Los Angeles | 07/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i honestly did not expect much when I went to see this, but the film makers and cast had come all the way from tennessee so i decided to give it a shot. i was very pleasantly surprised. the story, the characters, the setting....everything about it was great. it has a very grainy look to it which reminded me of classics like the texas chainsaw massacre. the guy who plays the main bad guy is creepy...really creepy... and his humongous henchman intimidated me from the screen. i actually freaked out a little when i looked down the row during the film and saw him sitting there wearing the same clothes he wore in the film. its not some generic gory torture horror film either. its more of a suspense film with horror elements. the twists are cool. most of the performances are top notch as well which is somehting a lot of indy horror films lack. a very solid film and i highly suggest you check it out."