Around the World with Day of the AnimalsOriginal posters
The Film
Produced in 1977, one year after Grizzly, William Girdler's Day of the Animals/Something is Out There
explores subject matter that during that time was really not seen too often in films. The film revolves around
the idea that the CFCs in aerosal cans could cause animals and some humans to become extremely agressive
to everything around them. This idea of ozone depletion ruining us all is extremely relevent today.
A group of hikkers get stranded in the forest when every single animal around them begins to lose their
minds and attack them. Soon, one of them is attacked by a wolf and must hike back down the mountain with
another to find help. From there it just gets worse. As the days pass, one of the members Paul Jenson
(Leslie Nielsen) begins to take lead of the team and splits up with some who wish to go up to a shelter while
the other group lead by Steve Buckner (Christopher George) hike back down the mountain. As night falls
Paul becomes victim of the animal instincts inside him and acts on them, but not before a bear comes out from
the woods to give him a big bear hug!
Buckner and team make it to the town but not before losing two of their teammates. The survivors from
Paul's clan make it to an empty helicopter where they too become rescued. When the sun rises reports
come in that the UV rays in the atmosphere are dying down and those affected are dying too. Naturally, our
characters are all rescued in a happy ending that has a message: SAVE THE OZONE LAYER!!!!
The interesting thing about the film is that there are two versions under different titles. Day of the Animals is
the television version and Something is Out There was the original theatrical version. There is virtually no
difference between the two except for the title.
The DVD
Shriek Show has gotten the rights to the film and has released their own DVD complete with both versions
of the film in anamorphic widescreen. Sounds good, eh?
Video:
Vintage Theatrical Print
First up is the Original Theatrical Version presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. On the back it claims the
transfer is from a vintage print and I can 100% agree it is vintage. This print is littered with specs, dirt, film rips
and scan lines. This reminded me of the film Grindhouse, it really is that brutal. There is contrast boosting, poor
saturation levels, fluctuating colours shifting from blue to green and black to red. The thing is a mess. Not only
that but the MPEG-2 compression on this cut is terrible, I have never seen anything look so blocky and pixelated
before in my life. On the other hand it does retain the original widescreen presentation which is a must-have
when viewing any film. Also, there are about 4 or 5 reel changes in the picture. They are quite obvious because
as we approach the end of a reel, the sound and picture begins to drop in quality leading to severe dirt and sound
crackling.
Reel Change Timecodes:
Reel One ends at 20:23
Reel Two ends at 38:27
Reel Three ends at 1:11:55
Reel Four at 1:29:34
Remastered Television Print
Thankfully, there is a television master that hardly differs from the theatrical version. There has been
some restoration to remove a lot of the dirt compared to the vintage print, no scan lines and only small
reel change markers that are less visible. Compression is a lot better. It's all good but the movie is Pan and
Scanned and Tilt and Scanned to 1.85:1. That's right the aspect ratio is changed and remember this is a
TV master so naturally is would be fully Pan and Scanned. So when Shriek Show got the 1.33:1 print
they decided to additionally matte it to 1.85:1 so in any given scene you are missing over 50% of the image!
So is it worth watching the theatrical print? Yes and no. The TV print is much cleaner and would appeal to
the average viewer, but it just crops so much picture that, in my opinion, the theatrical print is the only way to go.
Refer to the following screen caps to see the difference between the masters:
Top: Vintage 1977 Theatrical Print
Bottom: Remastered Television Print
Audio:
I can't say too many great things about the audio other than it does retain the original audio. This 2.0 Stereo track
is pretty good. The TV print sounds restored and only features a little crackling during the opening monologue.
Other than that it came through clear.
The theatrical print is a different story, being from a print in terrible shape, it has hiss, bleeps and constant
crackle. It is a very messy soundtrack but I could always understand the actors.
