John Birmingham is an artist.And this movie is true art.Shot on both DV and film, Crazy Animal is a story with moral about people who don't live under the rules put up by society and the consequences that it brings.You can see that Birmingham has been really inspired by the rock 'n roll musicals, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as the movie is filled with good music, most songs sung by Birmingham himself.Songs like 'Veronica' and 'Henry, Henry, Henry' are really gripping, entertaining and fun to listen to. The shots during the music scenes, when we move from flashbacks and memories to what is happening with the story is really fun and entertaining to watch.The movie also makes very good and subtle references to Birmingham's thoughts on Hollywood, Treatment of Animals and family life.The movie does a good job and putting all of these small sub-plots together all with one big plot surrounding it, which is basically that people are living like crazy animals in the wild. It's a very good social commentary that you want to listen to.Ron Jeremy and Lloyd Kaufman are remarkable as the two fathers who change the lives of their sons. I was surprised to see a pornographic actor and a director do so well in such dramatic roles.Ron Jeremy's character was a man who loved his son, who with his dying breath wants to teach his son how the world works, while Kaufman is a deranged man who teaches a terrified boy who becomes the main villain that he can do whatever he wants, as long as he gets away with it.But don't think the movie isn't hilarious as well, as it's mostly a comedy and has a lot of funny moments and lines. Except for Birmingham as Ricky, it was Atom Gorelick as Henry and Danica DeCosto as Meese that were often stealing the show with good lines and funny moments.But the best part of this entire movie? Steven McCloskey as Jeff. This guy should have played the Joker in Dark Knight. McCloskey not only steals the scene in every shot that he's in. Playing the psychotic Jeff, he is one of the most threatening characters I've seen in a long time. With many characters, especially in low budget movies, you are not scared of what they can do. They are simply, and nothing more, then a character in a movie, but McCloskey's strong performance as Jeff is so good, that you are mentally afraid of this character. He is a rapist who takes joy in killing and maiming.The scene when he walks up to Jen and simply overpowers her with the memories of the time he raped her, is one of the best scenes I've seen in cinema. And the scene where he takes charge of the situation is both frightening after so much character development, you are basically rooting for the good guys, then Jeff comes along and being such a strong character, he is able to take over any situations. And you are afraid for these characters, you don't want them them to lose, but seeing how strong of a character Jeff is, you know that they can't win. Overall, this movie is a 10 out of 10. Check it out.
... View MoreI totally love this movie, it's very very funny yet touching at times, it's got a great script & great cast of characters, hell there's even Ron Jeremy thrown in for good measure.Before I watched the movie I realised that it had been shot on a fairly low budget but it just doesn't show whatsoever, it plays like it's got a massive budget !!I can't recommend this movie enough, if you like good, honest entertainment buy this movie today & make sure to watch out for more movies from the same director because this guy is seriously going places.
... View MoreI had the privilege of seeing Crazy Animal before it was released, because I worked on the movie... This picture is awesome!!! Seriously, I didn't know if it would be a valid, sincerely good movie or not, but when I actually saw it, it is a really, really good movie for being done this low budget. I haven't seen a movie of this budget EVER be this good. I recommend it to everyone to go out and actually watch this thing... and yes, there is nudity, but I think the filmmakers just added this to reel in younger males who wanted to see this stuff, then the filmmaker shows you what he really wants to say... or that is what I got from the director... great cameo by the still rising to fame actor Ron Jeremy. Check this movie out... soon available at TROMA.COM!!!!
... View MoreDon't get me wrong, I love gory movies (in the summary it sounds like I'm against it, and that's not the case). But sometimes it's nice to see movies that actually have a good plot and don't depend on being as vulgar, disgusting and bloody as possible. Crazy Animal is one of those movies that is great without arms and legs flying everywhere on the screen. But there was some boob-shots, which is always appreciated. BUT still, the movie didn't focus on showing as many boobs as possible. The movie is very funny, but it has a serious and dramatic undertone which I really liked.The characters and the actors in this movie is great! Much better acting that you can expect from a independent movie. The one that stands out the most (and probably will get all the laughs) is the sleaze-rocker named Ricky (played by Birmingham himself). He's the one that lights up the whole comedian part of the movie, but inside he's very sad. He misses his girlfriend and his dead father (played by who? RON F***N' JEREMY!). I wont go into the characters that much in this review, cause it feels like I'm revealing to much then.The film has some cool cameos, as you read above Mr. Jeremy is in it. Troma's founder and vice-president Lloyd Kaufman also appears as one of the main characters evil father. His performance gave me a lot of laughs, he is pure evil in this one! It's also one of his best performances ever I think. Also, Brinke Stevens's in it.One of my favorite scenes in the movie (without spoiling anything for you) was in the beginning when you see Henry masturbating with a condom, that got me laughing really hard. Also, seeing Ricky riding away in his small scooter, which looks really dumb and ridiculous.Also, the music in the movie is really good. Everyone should check out the french band Banane Metalik and their song "Opus 666" which is in the movie a lot. Many of the songs in the movie are actually played and sung by the director and actor himself, John Birmingham.The editing and filming is also really good. There's some cool stuff done in the editing room that I thought looked really cool.Well, thats all I can come up with right now. I hope you find this review helpful and that you will see this movie when it gets out... or else...
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