The Animals Movie Review: A Cautionary Tale For Teeners Who Waste Their Lives In Booze And Drugs

IF ‘INTOY SYOKOY’ is set in a world of poverty, its exact opposite is “The Animals”, about rich kids who are wasting their youth and lives away in drugs, booze and senseless acts like violent fraternity initiations. Directed and co-written by 22-year old Gino Santos (a relative of the Santos clan of ABS-CBN), the film seems to be meant as a cautionary tale for today’s teenagers who think there’s no life after wanton partying. The fact that film’s title is “The Animals” says a lot about how the director view them.

But in the film, only a brother and sister get the comeuppance they deserve. In the party that’s the center of the movie, the brother, Alex (Patrick Sugui), gets involved in a very violent brawl that ends up with someone being badly beaten up. The sister, Trina (Dawn Balagot), a kleptomaniac, leaves the party after having a spat with her boyfriend and ends up being raped and murdered by a taxi driver.

Jake (Albie Casino) and his friend Pierre (Bryan Homecillo), who organized the party escaped unscathed, when they’re the ones who should’ve been punished more severely, especially Pierre who was the one who put drugs into the drinks of all the girls who end up vomiting and wasted.

The director, young as he maybe, certainly knows his craft. This is a pretty good debut film for someone young. We’re sure he’ll develop his cinematic sensibility further as the years go by and we won’t be surprised if he’d end up to be a real competent filmmaker.