It's not your typical horror film, but it is a moody exploration of evil for those seeking something a little different this spooky season.
Dark thriller ONLY THE ANIMALS, is directed and written by Dominik Moll (With a Friend like Harry), and stars Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Denis Ménochet and Laure Calamy in what has to be one of the more unusual releases of the year.
Divided into five chapters, French writer-director Moll’s murder mystery features a sophisticated multi-pronged narrative structure that keeps viewers on the edge and guessing until the last moments of the film.
Switching viewpoints, the plot connects a group of surprising characters with hidden drives and desires: a strange loner farmer, a husband and wife whose marriage has broken down, a young waitress who has become smitten with a mature female customer, and an African internet scam artist...
The film begins in a remote and snowy part of France after a woman goes missing from her abandoned car in an Alpine village, and the jigsaw pieces eventually extend to the Ivory Coast.
Following the disappearance of the glamorous and secretive Evelyne Ducat (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) during a blizzard, the lives of the five characters linked to her are brought together to devastating effect in this puzzling murder case.
At the heart of the film are two romantic fixations: one lesbian, one heterosexual — and both connect to the missing Evelyne. Along the way themes of obsession, lust, greed, and betrayal are explored.
The performances of Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (Summer of 85, Saint Laurent), Laure Calamy (Call My Agent), and Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Call My Agent) are raw, powerful, and authentic.
Dominik Moll studied film at City College in New York and the French National Film School IDHEC (now called FEMIS). A regular of the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals, he is best known for his dark hit comedy With a Friend Like Harry, winner of four Césars including Best Director, and the psychological thriller Lemming starring Charlotte Gainsbourg.