‘Anonymous Animals’ is a fantasy horror film that follows a number of people as they are subjugated or otherwise trapped by the dominant animal species. In a remote countryside, the feature focuses on a man as he is chained by a tree and presumably left for dead and a hoard of humans as they are taken to a farm-like facility to be treated like cattle.
The film opens on the chained man, as he tries to free himself, but to no avail. As a car passes by, he attempts to flag it down, yet is hesitant once he realises the driver is a dog/humanoid individual. The hound takes pity on the man, takes him to his homestead and treats the man’s wounded back, the injuries of which are apparently from being whipped by his former ward. After feeding the man, the hound proceeds to take him to another location, at which a private fight proceeds to take place between the chained man and another human who is pitted against him. After vehemently abstaining from taking part in the fight, the chained man is clubbed to death by the organiser of the fight – a bear humanoid.
In the meantime, the film follows a trio of individuals who are hiding in the forest, communication through sign language so as not to be heard. Even with their best efforts, the humans are discovered, rounded up with a group of other humans and eventually taken to a farm at which they are taken out one by one and processed as cattle. One woman manages to escape the electrified enclosure, however, as she tries to flee, she encounters the bull humanoid warden. In an attempt to escape, she runs into the horse humanoid who is shown to do the dirty work in processing the humans. As the horse walks her towards the exit and freedom seems a few short steps away, the horse proceeds to use a captive bolt stunner on the woman prior to dragging her to the slaughter room.
Thereafter, the chained man, now dead, together with his still alive opponent are both taken to the barn at which the opponent is caged. After some time he attempts to escape, but as he makes his way out of the barn and runs for the nearby forest, the bull signals to the nearby watcher, a deer humanoid, who, anticipating any escapees, proceeds to load up a double-barrelled rifle and pursues the escaped man.
‘Anonymous Animals’ is a perplexing yet brutally honest feature that casts light on the prominent issue of animal abuse. The film makes great use of leaning into the horror genre and manages to create tension as we are exposed to the fear and panic of the trapped humans, as they are stripped of their humanity. The film manages to delve deep into exploring the dread that is ever present as the humans are utterly helpless in each of the situations that we find them in, leaving us at a loss for words when faced with coming to terms with the idea of not being the dominant species on this planet. Each situation we follow – the chained man, the trapped hoard or the escapees, allows us to imagine what we would do in each situation. However, the film takes a strong stand on re-enforcing the notion that no matter what we try to do, the animal/human hybrids are always one step ahead of us, in full control and unwilling to compromise their goals. With a truly uneasy and hard message to follow, ‘Anonymous Animals’ places humans squarely at the mercy of the prevailing ruling class that is the animals, humbling the viewers perspective on life as we may lead it now, and forcing us to view the treatment of animals through an unfiltered lens.
The film makes use of intermittently peppering in shots of the still countryside in-between the intersecting stories as they are presented in short increments, inter-spliced throughout the feature. Jumping from one story to the other seems at times disorienting, however the film retains its message, as the sum of all the different tales never relents from retaining its message. Each story we come across is adamant about hammering home the sole message of the brutality and inhumane treatment that animals are subject to, be they cultivated for commercial purposes or mistreated through illegal underground fighting. The practical effects go a step further in pushing the fantasy element of the film further to re-enforce the notion that in another world, humans are not at the top of the food chain and have to get by at the mercy of their superiors. The movie greatly benefits from no dialogue, as the humans we come across do not utter a single word, yet the animals are clearly shown to be ale to communicate. Their communication works across board, with all species speaking to each other, however, it is strange, foreign and incomprehensible to the human subjects of the feature. Moreover, the film partially makes use of shaky-cam and dimly lit interiors, only adding to the confusion and disorienting nature that we find the human subjects in.
The writer and director of the film, Baptiste Rouveure has created a film with a strong message regarding the mistreatment of animals whilst making great use of the horror aspect that pairs naturally with such an abhorrent topic. The film carries with it a strong and unrelenting moral undercurrent that only intensifies with the progression of the story, disallowing the viewers to turn away from the awful truth of what is still very much a current and serious issue.
On the whole, ‘Anonymous Animals’ is a short feature, with a runtime of just over an hour, yet it manages to create a full and complete picture of the current state of affairs in that world – animals are dominant and the humans have no other option than to obey their commands. With a brutally honest look at animal cruelty, the creator if the film drives home the significance of the mistreatment of animals that is still happening. By putting a human face on the sufferers, the viewer is sure to walk away from the film contemplating their past actions and what possible changes they may want to make going forward so as not to perpetuate the very real situation that we are currently living in.
Score: 3/4
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