We need to have a frank conversation before I express my love for My Animal. We need to take a break from 80s horror. Horror has made an unfortunate shift with the creation of Stranger Things. Nostalgia bait has replaced good writing, with audiences preferring the idea of leg warmers and one-hit wonder 80s songs. Do you need to improve your story? Add a Kate Bush song! Did you write nothing characters? Throw a Ghostbusters suit on them! Remember Eggo waffles?! Horror needs to find a new decade to swoon over, even if it’s just for one year. Please, God.
Why My Animal Stands Out as an 80s-Inspired Film
That being said, My Animal is the perfect type of 80s film. Now, does this film take place in the 80s? That’s the million-dollar question. The time is never explicitly stated, but from the TVs, the lingo, the look, everything about this film says 80s. Tube TVs, grainy WWF footage, bodybuilding magazines. And that’s why it’s easy to appreciate this film as an 80s film. It exists within a time but doesn’t use that as a crux to fill in any points of blandness that may exist within it.
Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a practicing hockey goalie and ice rink worker, falls head over heels when figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) enters her life. Except Heather has a secret. She’s a werewolf. My Animal slowly turns from a pseudo-creature feature to a dark and sensual love story. Menuez and Stenberg play off of each other’s chemistry in a way that feels a bit too real for a scripted film; two lost souls, trying to find their place, and their person, in this world. Writer Jae Matthews crafts a compelling love story, which is perfectly captured by director Jacqueline Castel.
Overcoming Challenges in a Small Town
Heather finds herself having to overcome her alcoholic mother Patti (Heidi von Palleske), local townie dickheads, and being a lesbian in a small [seemingly backwoods] town. The greatest scenes in this film are surprisingly not between Menuez and Stenberg, rather, the scenes between Heather and her father Henry (Stephen McHattie), are absolutely beautiful. Now, it should be said, I’m a Stephen McHattie stan. When he made his first appearance in this film, I jumped off my couch and yelled, “GRANT MAZZY!” This prompted a text from my downstairs neighbor to ask if I was okay. McHattie and Menuez have unbelievable chemistry, and I really wanted another half-hour of just those two acting together.
My Animal tackles the idea of sexuality in a fresh and frightening way. If you’re looking for a bloody hack-and-slash werewolf film, My Animal is not for you. If you want a beautiful piece of cinema that examines sexuality, life, relationships in every sense, and the journey to leave your backward and small hometown, then this film is for you. I can’t fathom how many young adults this film is going to help, but I know the right people are going to love My Animal.