STACK #141 Jul 2016

DVD & BD FEATURE

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If you're an adventurous viewer who's eager to leave the comfort zone of generic Hollywood blockbusters, let STACK point you towards strange and exciting new frontiers in cinema – from the grindhouse to the arthouse and beyond. Words: Scott Hocking [Note: Some titles discussed may not be available on DVD and Blu-ray, so please check the JB Hi-Fi website.] BEGINNER’S GUIDE

#4 - NATURE RUNS AMOK Following the success of Spielberg's classic Jaws in 1975, filmmakers seized the opportunity to capitalise on animals on the rampage. Suddenly every conceivable species on the planet began attacking humankind, from the ferocious (bears, alligators, dogs) and the innocuous (worms, cockroaches, frogs), to the just plain ridiculous (rabbits, slugs, shrews). This horror sub-genre was most popular during the '70s and early '80s, but wrathful wildlife continues to rise up against us on the screen to this very day.

mayhem can erupt for the film's climax. And of course there will be an arrogant official who's more concerned with tourism and profits than people being eaten, and will refuse to close the beach/national park or call off the county fair. The formula remains consistent regardless of the type of species attacking, which is usually the title of the movie anyway, so you know exactly what you're in for. WHERE TO START Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds is the seminal nature runs amok movie, but it was Jaws that established the template just discussed, so you should really start there. Shark attacks are a hazard whenever we venture into their domain, but few films have incited the kind of phobia over a dip in the ocean as Spielberg's masterpiece did on its release in the summer of '75. Jaws not only created the event movie blockbuster, it also spawned the nature runs amok sub-genre, being swiftly followed by William Girdler's killer bear movie Grizzly (1976) – pitched as " Jaws with claws" and also required viewing, albeit extremely difficult to find these days.

DVD & BD

WHAT TO EXPECT Films in which nature runs amok are essentially an offshoot of the disaster movie.

the ozone layer by fluorocarbons ( Day of the Animals , 1977). A lot of the time there's no reason, it's just predators doing what they do.

(There are also mutations from genetic tampering, frequently of the oversized variety, but that's a subject for another chapter.) An expert in whatever branch of zoology is relevant will be called in to discover what's behind all the animal aggro – usually a pretty female scientist to provide a romantic interest for the film's macho park ranger/ sheriff/hero. Sometimes a

Instead of earthquakes, towering infernos and erupting volcanos, it's killer sharks and bears, or swarms of insects and arachnids wreaking havoc. They also don't feature the big name casts that disaster films used to attract, but work just fine with dependable tough guy actors like Christopher George, William Shatner, Joe Don Baker and Sam Elliott in the leading roles (although 1978's A-lister laden The Swarm was a major exception). So why does nature rebel against us in these movies? The reasons are many and varied but the usual culprit

Native American will offer up some mystical explanation as an alternative to the scientific one ( Nightwing and Prophecy , 1979). The initial attacks are on individuals and will appear random, but as in any decent disaster movie, there's always some kind of town fair, festival or community event where maximum

is some kind of threat to their environment – toxic waste, pollutants and pesticides can all turn the most placid tarantula or slug into a vicious killer. Some of the catalysts are more outrageous – PCP pumped into a zoo's water supply ( Wild Beasts , 1984), or the depletion of

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