What greater fear is there than a cute and adorable Saint Bernard suddenly turning vicious and attacking humans? This fear of nature turning on people has been a popular film subgenre especially during the 1950’s – 1970’s. In the 1970’s you seemingly had every non-Homo Sapien species saying, “Enough with humans…we’re going on the attack!”
The 70’s and early 80’s had it all. Snakes? Sssssss (1973), Fangs (1974), and Venom (1981). Insects? Phase IV (1974), The Savage Bees (1976), Ants (1977) and The Swarm (1978). Animals? Grizzly (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), The Pack (1977), and Roar (1981). Fish? Jaws (1975), Orca (1977), Piranha (1978) and Barracuda (1978). This decade long run of Animal Attacks film even produced an “environmental waste creates a mutant bear that goes on a rampage” film in Prophecy (1979).
Subgenres usually recycle every 20 years and true to form, we had a new rash of animal attacks films for a new generation starting in the early 2000’s. Sharks became the most popular microgenre of animals attacks films with Deep Blue Sea (1999), Open Water (2004), The Shallows (2016) and 47 Meters Down (2017). Alligators and Crocodiles came in a close 2nd place with Lake Placid (1999), Black Water (2007), Primeval (2007) and Rogue (2007). 3rd place featured a variety of animals including Lions, Tigers and Bears (Oh My) with Prey (2007), Burning Bright (2010), and Backcountry (2014). Not to be outdone by the 1970’s and mutant bears, this decade even produced a film about Zombie beavers called, creatively enough, Zombeavers (2014).
Our entire Animals Attack Films List includes over 145+ movies featuring the movies mentioned above as well as a host of others. Narrowing down the list of Top 10 Animals Attack Films You Haven’t Seen was not easy as there are quite a few films in this subgenre! Not making our list are these honorable mentions: Of Unknown Origin (1983), Shakma (1990), Mulberry Street (2006), Burning Bright (2010) and White God (2014).
We have embedded a compilation video of our Top Animals Attack Films You Haven’t Seen and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
#10
Prophecy
Plot: EPA investigator finds poisoned water supply is creating mutant wildlife.
KBZ’s Take: Has this film aged well? No. Is it still a great time? Hell Yes! This is the best “logging company is poisoning water creating mutant grizzly bears that go on the attack” that you’ll ever see. While some of the effects are outdated, there are still enough suspenseful thrills in this film to keep you watching. Though today’s kids might not find this scary, it’s a reminder of what was rated “PG” back in the day.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3OY0GEm
#9
Backcountry
Plot: Lost hikers get stalked by a Black Bear.
KBZ’s Take: This is a film that excels in transitioning from a standard Survival Drama to pulse pounding Survival Horror by its 3rd Act. You might get put off a bit by the squabbling between the two leads for much of the first 2 Acts, but its definitely worth sticking around for once our resident Black Bear gets hungry.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ujpugs
#8
The Pack
Plot: Residents of Seal Island are terrorized by a pack of dogs.
KBZ’s Take: Not to be confused with the similarly titled The Pack (2015), this late 70’s Animals Attack film is surprisingly good. Many suspenseful moments throughout as the island residents realize they’re on the canine’s menu now. Film also explores how a family’s left behind border collie is welcomed into the pack.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3VK6Gmd
#7
White Dog
Plot: Trainer tries to retrain a dog that’s been trained to attack black people.
KBZ’s Take: This is one of those films where you quickly realize how evil human beings can be. White Dog tackles both racism and animal cruelty at once and can be difficult to watch at certain points in the film. Though controversial when released, White Dog was given a Criterion release with an uncut version of the film. Note: not to be confused with a different animals attack film called White God (2014) which explores similar themes of animal abuse but has more sci-fi elements to it.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3UyrBry
#6
Link
Plot: Eccentric professor’s chimpanzees and orangutang become aggressive towards the graduate student watching over them.
KBZ’s Take: Fun film that has two separate halves. The first half shows intelligent chimps and their humorous interaction with graduate student Jane (Elizabeth Shue). The second half turns into a Home Invasion / Survival Horror film with some suspense filled moments. The film is still entertaining but be prepared for the shift in tone.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XQUNg3
Plot: Family in the wilderness is hunted by a rogue wolf.
KBZ’s Take: To go into any detail about this film would ruin it. Suffice to say, yes, it’s an Animal Attacks film but it’s much, much more than that. It’s definitely one of the better films of 2020 and one of the best Survival Horror films from the last decade. We wish we could say more about this film but we can’t. Just watch it.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3VrTa6V
#4
Bait
Plot: Freak tsunami floods a grocery store with hungry sharks.
KBZ’s Take: Reviews haven’t been kind to this film as it was wrongly compared to some of the cheaper “Sharks Attack!” films that all came out at once in the early 2010’s. While the premise itself is a bit hard to buy into, if you can suspend disbelief for 90 minutes, you’ll have a great time.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3H5FWse
Plot: A family is besieged by thirsty and hungry Lions.
KBZ’s Take: Another example of a film rated “PG” back in the day that would probably be rated PG-13 or R nowadays. This hard to find film stars Tom Skerritt who has to defend his family and home from hungry Lions. Unique to this film are the choreographed scenes with the Lions that are incredible even 40 years later. This film also is a Home Invasion-type horror film as the Lions continually find ways into the family’s home.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC80et7ygY8
#2
Frozen
Plot: Three friends are trapped overnight on a ski lift in below freezing conditions while hungry wolves wait below.
KBZ’s Take: We honestly don’t know where to begin with this film. Unlike horror films that show utterly stupid decisions by its characters, this film does the opposite – it shows these friends making smart decisions (based on their deteriorating situation) that don’t end well. It effectively puts you in their “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” predicament. Highly recommended overall Top Film by KBZ.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3iwXwLk
Plot: Quadriplegic is given a trained monkey to assist him until the monkey develops feelings and goes on a rampage.
KBZ’s Take: This is one of George A. Romero’s lesser-known films but it’s one of his best. On its surface, it’s a slasher horror film when the genetically altered monkey bonds with her wheelchair bound ‘master’ and acts on his rage. However, it’s underlying message is about animal cruelty and experimentation gone wrong. Very engaging and suspenseful thriller especially once you get past the setup of the first 2 acts.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ixwqUo
