DAY OF THE ANIMALS

year: 1977 cast: Christopher George, Leslie Neilson, Andrew Stevens rating: **

A limp eco-horror about wilderness animals going berserk because of the man-caused depletion of the ozone layer. The critter madness occurs during a hiking trip: consisting of an ensemble cast led by Christopher George.

There's no mystery involved as to why the beasts, mostly birds (Hitchcock, anyone?) and then wolves and German Shepards have become deadly since the movie begins with a scrawl teaching us: "According to scientists, what you're about to see is possible."

Unlike FROGS, PIRANHA, and KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, the characters/victims are paper-thin and uninteresting, except Leslie Nielsen as an temperamental bully who suddenly becomes a raping caveman.

The body count dwindles quickly during the last half hour; ironically, this is when the film improves upon the terribly boring lead-up consisting of what looks like stock footage of wildlife seeming friendly enough save for a foreboding soundtrack.