Tag: HAR: Animal Experimentation

  • 28 Days Later. Dir. Danny Boyle. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2002.

    Boyle’s 28 Days Later presents a devastated post-apocalyptic world in which a highly infectious rage virus spreads through humanity, causing those infected to be struck with mindless violent rage. The opening laboratory scene depicts the origin of the virus and moment the infection is first transmitted to humans.  The spread to humans happens through chimpanzees…

  • Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion).

    Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion).

    Hungarian cinema leaves us feeling stuffed! Figure A  – Lajoska Balatony surrounded by stuffed animals. Taxidermia (György Pálfi, 2006, Amor Far Filmproduktion). Pálfi’s 2006 body horror  Taxidermia, follows the story of three generations of men in three acts; each concerning a different afflicted and animalistic perversion. It begins with Morosgoványi Vendel, a sexually perverse man…

  • Felidae. Dir. Michael Schaack.Wild Bunch. 1994.

    Warning- this article will contain graphic animated imagery as well as major spoilers for the film Felidae (1994) “What I was watching wasn’t exactly a scene out of The Aristocats.” -Francis in Felidae Released in 1994, the cult neo-noir film Felidae immediately sets itself apart from its earlier animated feline predecessors, with Schaack’s adaptation refusing…

  • Ant-Man. Dir. Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios. 2015.

    Ant-Man. Dir. Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios. 2015.

    ‘You’ve yet to learn about your greatest allies: the ants. Loyal, brave, and your partners on this job.’ As you’ve undoubtedly predicted from the title, ants play a huge role in Marvel’s Ant-Man[1] (2015). Master burglar Scott Lang, recently released from prison, is determined to cease his criminal ways so he can become a proper…

  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures. 1982

    Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), despite its tearful conclusion in which 10-year-old Elliott is parted from his extra-terrestrial friend aptly named ‘E.T.’, is revered for its thematic sentimentality (popularised by its iconic John Williams score) and stood him in contrast to his contemporary auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who adopted…

  • Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!. Dir. By. Peter Lord. Columbia Pictures. 2012.

    Aardman never shy away from the ludicrous. So when a crew of incompetent pirates endeavour for protagonist The Pirate Captain to win the Pirate of the Year Award by relying on the commercial value of his prized dodo companion Polly (who should have been extinct for 150 years and is believed to be a parrot)…

  • Okja. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Netflix. 2017

    Okja. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Netflix. 2017

    There are two kinds of pigs that make an appearance in Okja; genetically modified super-pigs and greedy, corporate capitalist pigs. The slaughterhouse scene forces the viewer to dispel any false idealism surrounding the reality of the meat industry, an explicit criticism of how human exceptionalist thinking blended with modern ‘capitalist delirium’ [1] has ruined the…

  • Guardians of the Galaxy. Dir. James Gunn. Marvel Studios. 2014.

    Set in a parallel science- fiction universe, Guardians of the Galaxy[1] parodies Marvel’s usual ‘superhero’ film, by casting five criminal anti- heroes as the protagonists. The film follows five intergalactic – outlaw – anti- heroes as they are brought together by being arrested, over a bounty hunt on a mysterious orb. Previously individuals just working…

  • The Secret of NIMH. Dir. Don Bluth. MGM/UA Entertainment Company. 1982.

    “We can no longer live as rats. We know too much.” The Secret of NIMH is remembered by many as a dark, creepy, and disturbing film, with retrospectives published in recent years referring to it as leaving basically every kid who sees it with a lingering dread. Don Bluth’s directorial debut after leaving the Walt…

  • Sorry to Bother You. Dir. Boots Riley. Annapurna Pictures. 2018.

    Boots Riley’s debut feature has been praised for its portrayal of the callous nature of capitalism in modern America. The overarching message throughout is that the efficiency of the labourer is paramount to economic success and is valued more than human life, with this ideology being brought to life with the Equisapians, a half-human/half-horse hybrid,…