Emma is in a city she doesn’t know. It’s the early hours of the morning, and she’s had a few drinks. She has a big day tomorrow and to be honest probably should have left for home hours ago. So, she calls a late-night taxi cab and … wait, wait. Stop. Don’t do that. If watching a ton of horror movies has taught me anything, it’s that approximately 73% of all abductions occur whilst taking a late-night taxi cab. *disclaimer – this statistic is made up. Nevertheless, this is where we find ourselves at the beginning of Animalistic, and it’s time to place your bets – will Emma survive?
Now I’ve not seen that many rape and revenge films and I feel that’s a good thing. My moral mojo twinges at plots heavily dependent upon extended scenes of sexual torture and abuse – unless it’s done well and is integral to the story (I know, I know, I review horror movies for pleasure, surely my morality is a little off-kilter already? Well no, I love horror, but it needs to be entertaining). In the case of Animalistic, it all made me feel quite dirty, which is exactly how I would expect to feel. There’s something really seedy and grim about this movie though, more so than you would usually expect considering the plot. Emma (Hanna Oldenburg) is confronted by a trio of psychopaths who argue amongst themselves and even have the odd scuffle as they fight their inadequacies and conflictions.
The bad news for Emma (despite being kidnapped) is that these perverted sadomasochists don’t want a ransom, they don’t want anything other than to satisfy their twisted perversions. That’s right, these sick puppies torture, torment, rape and kill for the thrill of it – they love it. Emma is faced with a harrowing ordeal of beatings and repeated violations, and this carries on for the first hour of the film. A film that only lasts for a further twenty minutes, and as you might suspect is quite an uncomfortable watch. It felt like there was far too much focus on Emma’s abuse and degradation, and not nearly enough time on her sweet, sweet revenge. Which is a shame, because these last twenty minutes will have you hooked. When Emma is finally free of her shackles, she lays into her abusers good and proper, and you will be cheering her every step of the way.
Animalistic is brought to the screen by the directing duo of Sonny Laguna & Tommy Wiklund whom together are responsible for, amongst other things, the latest in the Puppet Master franchise, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018). They are also credited with the writing, together with their creative partner David Liljeblad.
Hanna Oldenburg does a good job as the unfortunate Emma. She’s scared, she’s cocky, she’s scared again, and then she is quite wonderfully twisted and vicious at the end, to the point where she seems even to scare herself. The trio of bad guys is made up by the acting talents of Ralf Beck as the main man Jim, Torbjörn Andersson as the simple side-kick Pete, and the late Niki Nordenskjöld as taxi driver Shirley.
If you fancy a rather vicious and uncomfortable hour of viewing, then you need to look no further than Animalistic. There are quite a few movies in this grim subgenre, and most follow similar plots, so don’t expect anything new. That being said, there are some excellent performances and a bloody satisfying finale. Hurrah!
Discover the Unrated version of Animalistic for yourself at Amazon!
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