Violence to Animals in Film

Heads Up, Ears Down

This blog accurately identifies depictions of violence and cruelty toward animals in films. The purpose is to provide viewers with a reliable guide so that such depictions do not come as unwelcome surprises. Films will be accurately notated, providing a time cue for each incident along with a concise description of the scene and perhaps relevant context surrounding the incident. In order to serve as a useful reference tool, films having no depictions of violence to animals will be included, with an indication that there are no such scenes. This is confirmation that the films have been watched with the stated purpose in mind.

Note that the word depictions figures prominently in the objective. It is a travesty that discussions about cruelty in film usually are derailed by the largely unrelated assertion that no animals really were hurt (true only in some films, dependent upon many factors), and that all this concern is just over a simulation. Not the point, whether true or false. We do not smugly dismiss depictions of five-year-olds being raped because those scenes are only simulations. No, we are appalled that such images are even staged, and we are appropriately horrified that the notion now has been planted into the minds of the weak and cruel.

Depictions of violence or harm to animals are assessed in keeping with our dominant culture, with physical abuse, harmful neglect, and similar mistreatment serving as a base line. This blog does not address extended issues of animal welfare, and as such does not identify scenes of people eating meat or mules pulling plows. The goal is to itemize images that might cause a disturbance in a compassionate household.

These notes provide a heads-up but do not necessarily discourage watching a film because of depicted cruelty. Consuming a piece of art does not make you a supporter of the ideas presented. Your ethical self is created by your public rhetoric and your private actions, not by your willingness to sit through a filmed act of violence.

The Immortalizer

The Immortalizer. Joel Bender, 1989.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #318, released 2020. English language. Runtime approximately 96 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film.

In the Aftermath

In the Aftermath. Carl Colpaert, 1988.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 85 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Inland Sea

The Inland Sea. Lucille Carra, 1991.

😿😿

Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #988, released date. English language narration with atmospheric Japanese; English subtitles throughout. Runtime approximately 57 minutes.

Summary: Fish hacking

Details: Live fish are hacked up in a market, 47:40-48:10.

Interferenz

Interferenz. Lukas Feigelfeld, 2014.

😸

Edition screened: Included on Doppelgänger Blu-ray Hagazussa, released 2019. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 48 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Interviews with Welshmen

Interviews with Welshmen. Kent Smith, 1982.

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Edition screened: Included on Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #282 Taking Tiger Mountain, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 16 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Invisible Ghost

Invisible Ghost. Joseph H. Lewis, 1941.

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Edition screened: Kino Lorber Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 64 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

This is a trite and tiresome film.

Jean de Florette

Jean de Florette. Claude Berri, 1986.

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Edition screened: Included in Shout! Factory Blu-ray set Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring, released 2015. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 121 minutes.

Summary: Dead birds and rabbits.

Details:

1) A dead thrush is found in a snare, 1:09:42-1:09:48

2) Many rabbits have died of thirst and lie on the ground of their pen, 1:36:03 - 1:36:11.

The Jerk

The Jerk. Carl Reiner, 1979.

😿😿

Edition screened: Universal “26th Anniversary Edition” DVD, released 2005. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

Summary: Depiction of kittens being injured

Details: A black-and-white film of “kitten juggling” mimics cock fighting, 1:12:50-1:13:30. First, three real kittens are picked up by the juggler. After a cutaway to Steve Martin’s horrified face, we return to what are obviously little stuffed kittens being juggled in such a way that they probably would be killed if they were real.

Are these kittens real? No. Have countless teenage assholes re-enacted this scene with real kittens? Absolutely. Did those kittens have their spines broken and their necks snapped and die horrible deaths while jackasses laughed? Yes. Stop this crap in movies.

John Wick: Chapter 2

John Wick: Chapter 2. Chad Stahelski, 2017.

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Edition screened: Lionsgate Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 122 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Journey Through Setomaa

Journey Through Setomaa (Retk läbi Setumaa). Johannes Pääsuke, 1913.

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Edition screened: Included Oscilloscope DVD November, released 2018. No audio track. Runtime approximately 7 minutes.

A beautiful documentary of early 20th-century Estonian life, and influential to Rainer’s November (2018).

Just for the Hell of It

Just for the Hell of It. Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1968.

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Edition screened: Included with She-Devils on Wheels in the Arrow box set The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 81 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Justine: A Matter of Innocence

Justine: A Matter of Innocence. Roberta Findlay (as Robert R. Walters) and Cecil Howard, 1980.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #303, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 84 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals. 2/5❤

Kaos

Kaos. Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, 1984.

😿 😿 😿

Edition screened: Included in the Cohen Blu-ray set The Taviani Brothers Collection, released 2016. Sardinian and Italian languages with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 196 minutes.

Summary: General animal abuse, often for nostalgic laughs.

Details:

1) The film opens with a long scene of creepy mistreatment of a large crow, 0:49-2:48. Like scenes in Padre Padrone, implied sexuality is more uncomfortable than actually violent. The worst part in this sequence involves the crow suspended by his feet by one buffoon while the other buffoons throw eggs at it and ridicule its masculinity.

2) A woman is pinned inside her house by a snarling dog, so distracts it by throwing a kitten on the dog’s head, 55:10-55:16. Immediately afterwards we hear predictable growls and hissing but see no resolution. The implied violence of the scene is upsetting.

3) Depiction of a military horse lying on her side with a broken leg, then shot off screen 2:26:02-2:26:54.

The Killer Is One of 13

The Killer Is One of 13 (El asesino está entre los trece). Javier Aguirre, 1973.

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Edition screened: Included in Vinegar Syndrome box set #314 Forgotten Gialli Volume 1, released 2020. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Killer Nun

Killer Nun (Suor omicidi). Giulio Berruti, 1979.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2019. Italian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Lessons of Darkness

Lessons of Darkness (Lektionen in Finsternis). Werner Herzog, 1992.

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Edition screened: Included in Shout! Factory Blu-ray box set Herzog: The Collection, released 2014. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 50 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals, despite brutal environmental destruction and the implicit annihilation of animal and plant life.

Let My Puppets Come

Let My Puppets Come. Gerard Damiano, 1976.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #290, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 76 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 0/5❤

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

Little Dieter Needs to Fly. Werner Herzog, 1997.

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Edition screened: Included in Shout! Factory Blu-ray box set Herzog: The Collection, released 2014. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 74 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Bi Gan)

Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Di Qiu Zui Hou De Ye Wan). Bi Gan, 2018.

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Edition screened: Kino Lorber Blu-ray, released 2019. Manarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 140 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Love Garden

The Love Garden. Mark Haggard, 1971.

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Edition screened: Included on Vinegar Syndrome DVD #006 Drive-In Collection: The Suckers/The Love Garden, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 73 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 1.5/5❤

Lust in the Dust

Lust in the Dust. Paul Bartel, 1985.

😿

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #278, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 85 minutes.

Summary: Comedic portrayal of shooting a hawk.

Details: Stock image of a flying hawk, followed by Tab Hunter shooting into the sky and a stuffed hawk falling to the ground, 5:22-5:30. Obviously canned and nothing gory here, but pointless murdering of birds is not funny.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Paul Schrader, 1985.

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Edition screened: Criterion DVD #432, released 2008. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 120 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

mother!

mother! Darren Aronofsky, 2017.

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Edition screened: Paramount Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 121 minutes.

Summary: Early in the film a deer fly dies the usual death on a windowsill. Other than that, there are no animals or references to animals in the film.

The Night of the Strangler

The Night of the Strangler. Joy N. Houck, Jr., 1972.

😿 😿

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #082, released 2015; also included on AGFA Blood-A-Rama Triple Frightmare Blu-ray, released 2021 English language. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.

Summary: A snake is beaten to death with an umbrella, 42:41-42:55.

The Police Are Blundering in the Dark

The Police Are Blundering in the Dark (La polizia brancola nel buio). Helia Colombo, 1975.

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Edition screened: Included in Vinegar Syndrome box set #314 Forgotten Gialli Volume 1, released 2020. Italian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Story of Temple Drake

The Story of Temple Drake. Stephen R. Roberts, 1933.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #1005, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 71 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Criterion transfer looks great and the release includes several very good video essays primarily about the transition from pre-code films to the decades of self-censorship.

The Suckers

The Suckers. Stu Segall (as Arthur Byrd), 1972.

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Edition screened: Included on Vinegar Syndrome DVD #006 Drive-In Collection: The Suckers/The Love Garden, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 80 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals. 1.5/5❤

Trauma

Trauma (Violación fatal). León Klimovsky, 1978.

😿

Edition screened: Included in Vinegar Syndrome box set #314 Forgotten Gialli Volume 1, released 2020. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: Gratuitous kitchen prep.

Details: This project typically discounts scenes of routine kitchen prep that involve cutting meat and similar. Trauma includes a brief scene of decapitating a chicken carcass that is particularly graphic, 54:06-53:12.

The Magnificent Ambersons (Welles)

The Magnificent Ambersons. Orson Welles, 1942.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #952, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Malabimba

Malabimba. Andrea Bianchi (as Andrew White), 1979.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #313, released 2020. Italian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 100 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals. 3.5/5❤

Malibu Express

Malibu Express. Andy Sidaris, 1985.

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Edition screened: Included on Mill Creek 3-DVD set Girls, Guns and G-Strings: The Andy Sidaris Collection, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 105 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Man of a Thousand Faces

Man of a Thousand Faces. Joseph Pevney, 1957.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 122 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

This excellent biography of Lon Chaney includes a few bucolic fishing scenes, with no graphic imagery.

Manon of the Spring

Manon of the Spring (Manon des sources). Claude Berri, 1986.

😿😿

Edition screened: Included in Shout! Factory Blu-ray set Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring, released 2015. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 114 minutes.

Summary: Birds and rabbits dead in snares.

Details:

1) Dead thrushes in snare, 19:03-19:42

2) A dead rabbit in a snare, 33:53-34:02.

3) More background action with a dead thrush, 43:20-44:02.

The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection

The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection. Various directors, 1929-1933.

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Edition screened: Universal Blu-ray box set, released 2016. English language. Compiled runtime approximately 408 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The set includes:

Animal Crackers (1930)

The Cocoanuts (1929)

Duck Soup (1933)

Horse Feathers (1932)

Monkey Business (1931)

Mary Pickford: Rags & Riches Collection

Mary Pickford: Rags & Riches Collection. Various directors, 1910-1926.

😿

Edition screened: Milestone 3-DVD set, released 2012. Scored and with English intertitles, no dialogue track. Cumulative runtime approximately 274 minutes.

Summary: The Hoodlum includes a few brief scenes of endangerment and humiliation of animals for comedic effect.

This very good set includes:

Ramona (1910 D.W. Griffith)

The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917 Maurice Tourneur)

The Hoodlum (1919 Sidney Franklin)

Sparrows (1926 William Beaudine)

Mascara

Mascara. Henri Pachard and Roberta Findlay, 1983.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #285, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 77 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 3/5❤

Michael (Schleinzer)

Michael. Markus Schleinzer, 2011.

😿

Edition screened: Artificial Eye Blu-ray, released 2012. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 96 minutes.

Summary: Discovery of a dead cat.

Details: Earlier in the film, neighbors are looking for a house cat that accidentally got outside. At 1:18:40-1:18:56, Michael finds the dead cat under some bushes, bags it, and puts it in a trash can. There is nothing especially callous or gross, and you know this is coming as soon the cat is discussed.

A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy

A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy. Woody Allen, 1982.

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Edition screened: MGM DVD, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Mister Lonely

Mister Lonely. Harmony Korine, 2007

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Edition screened: IFC DVD, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 113 minutes.

Summary: Depiction of euthanized sheep.

Details:

Earlier in the film we see characters standing around an ill sheep, speculating on its status and problem. Later, it is decided that the herd must be euthanized. We see the herd, followed by scenes of several characters shooting with long guns, 1:01:50-1:02:40. This mass execution is implied visually only, with no real or created depictions of injured or dead animals.

Mountaintop Motel Massacre

Mountaintop Motel Massacre. Jim McCullough Sr., 1983.

😿

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #276, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 96 minutes.

Summary: Numerous off-screen animal killings implied, with spatter effects.

Details:

1) A white guinea pig is stabbed to death, 4:05-4:13. The implied murder is completely off-screen, and we see only blood splattering on Crazy Woman’s apron.

2) We see a real goat in the room before Crazy Woman starts swinging her scythe around and knocks over the stand-in dummy goat at 6:49.

3) A snake is beaten to death, 36:24-36:32. The implied murder is completely off-screen, and we see only the shoe used as a weapon.

4) One man flails around at rats (no harm) around 44:10, and another man wipes at some roaches a little later.

Multiple Maniacs

Multiple Maniacs. John Waters, 1970.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 96 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Necktie (Lanthimos)

Necktie. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2013.

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Edition screened: On line. English language. Runtime approximately 2 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film.

A short lift from Barry Lyndon with a final line by Baudelaire.

Next Door (Sletaune)

Next Door (Naboer). Pål Sletaune, 2005.

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Edition screened: TLA DVD, released 2006. Norwegian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 75 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film