Animal Factory

Starring:Tom Arnold, Chris Bauer, Mark Boone Junior, Edward Bunker, Michael Buscemi, Seymour Cassel, Willem Dafoe, Mark Engelhardt, Edward Furlong, Ernest Harden Jr., John Heard, Jake La Botz, Afemo Omilami, Victor Pagan, J.C. Quinn, Steven Randazzo, Rockets Redglare, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Steve Buscemi subtly refines the prison drama in his second film, a rich character piece set in a ramshackle state penitentiary. Edward Furlong is a glum, drug-dealing, middle-class bad boy suddenly drop-kicked into a world in which his sneering defiance just makes him more attractive prey to hardened convicts. Willem Dafoe, a career felon who runs the prison's contraband network, takes the kid under his wing and his protection. He's obviously attracted to the pretty boy and that sexual tension buzzes throughout the film, but their friendship, which is much more complicated, becomes the center of the film.

Amazon.com

Steve Buscemi subtly refines the prison drama in his second film, a rich character piece set in a ramshackle state penitentiary. Edward Furlong is a glum, drug-dealing, middle-class bad boy suddenly drop-kicked into a world in which his sneering defiance just makes him more attractive prey to hardened convicts. Willem Dafoe, a career felon who runs the prison's contraband network, takes the kid under his wing and his protection. He's obviously attracted to the pretty boy and that sexual tension buzzes throughout the film, but their friendship, which is much more complicated, becomes the center of the film.

Customer Reviews:

OK if your cable is...........2007-06-26

OK film if your cable or dish is off line.

Why did Tom Arnold get top billing? Wish he'd have stayed home during the production of this movie.

Human Wreckage.......2007-03-10

In 1996 I was convicted of armed robbery and sent to prison in Washington state for eight years(of which I did seven)and I'm here to tell you that ANIMAL FACTORY is the real deal; I was a lot like the character played by Edward Furlong and I was lucky enough to meet men like the character played by Wilem Dafoe, guys who didn't want to rape me, guys who didn't want to kill me, guys who acted decently amidst all of the indecency.

Since my release from prison in 2003 I am invariably asked the two big questions when it comes to incarceration in this country: A) did I get raped? And B) is prison really like you see on OZ?

I've never seen OZ but anyone who wants to see what prison is like should get a gander at ANIMAL FACTORY. The entire film drips with authenticity. Within 2 minutes I felt that old queasy feeling in my stomach--exactly as if I were back there myself, all over again.

For those of you out there who might think there is still a bit of rebellious glamour left in going to prison, watch ANIMAL FACTORY and take it from me: being locked up is not cool and its not fun and it is not something that anyone should aspire to.

Best movie ever made!!.......2006-03-07

Out of everything i own, this movie is one that is SACRED to me... This one is my fave.. I've seen it countless times...

It has a great cast, great director.. Willem Dafoe is amazing in it... I'd have to say out of all the movies he's been in, i'd rate this one as his best!

Not the best movie for Edward Furlong though ( <-- i'd have to say T2 for him), but he played his role well..

And ya gotta love Danny Trejo... he's great in every movie.

This movie is pretty realistic... i mean it's written by an actual convict.. Edward Bunker... and there are actual convicts in the movie as extra's, and not to mention Trejo (who is a real con as well... the special features in this movie explains this, and gives interviews... the special features are awesome..).

If you like this movie, look into some more works by Edward Bunker, especially his books, "Education of a Felon" etc...

I can't express enough on how great movie is, so i'll end my review here... if i could give this movie an infinite amount of stars i would, cuase it's that good.

When i was searching for a copy of it, the lowest it sold for was $30, that's what i ended up paying for mine... but i was ready to pay $50 for it... it's definitely worth whatever price it sells for...

Yet Another Prison Movie.......2005-12-16

There seems to be no end to prison movies and no end to those of us who watch them. Steve Buscemi's "Animal Factory" could have made the also-ran list were it not for the really splendid performance of Willem Dafoe who plays the character of Earl Copen, an 18 year veteran of the prison system who takes the young and vulnerable Ron Decker, in prison for dealing drugs (Edward Furlong) under his wing, in this instance without the sex. Dafoe manages to make this character very human, and we root for him in whatever he gets involved in. The usual requirements for a prison movie are here: guards who look the other way, favoritism because of pay-offs, drugs, violence, racial tension and the sexual undercurrents.

Decker's cellmate is a heavily made-up cross-dresser with muscles who when he is on screen steals the show. I was totally blown away when the credits rolled to see that he is played by Mickey Rourke. You could have fooled me. It is worth watching this film for his performance alone.

Isn't Mickey Rourke in drag one of the signs heralding the apocalypse?.......2005-09-03

Animal Factory is a prison movie. The title would imply that the prison system takes even "nonviolent criminals" and turns them into savage felons, warehousing them in decaying institutions. A man may not have been an animal going in, but he will certainly be one coming out. Unfortunately, the movie is not nearly as edgy or interesting as that sounds.

Willem Dafoe plays Earl Copen, a convict at the top of the prison food chain. Into the mix comes Ron Decker (Edward Furlong), a low level marijuana dealer, whose youth and slight frame would normally mark him for the more predatory prisoners. When Copen befriends Decker, he is spared the torture and humiliation of another young prisoner coming in at the same time as Decker. What Copen's motives are in protecting Decker are never fully explained. Dafoe plays Copen as a convict with a Zen vibe. Whether or not Copen is seeking redemption or sees Decker as a younger version of himself is open to interpretation.

In what I imagine is a fairly accurate depiction of prison life, the days drift by in grinding tedium - men mill about the prison yard; they sit, walk, eat, get high; violence occasionally erupts. John Lurie's film score punctuates the odd rhythms of the movie.

Regrettably, male posturing frequently supplants believable behavior. Any interior life of these characters is completely masked. (Perhaps this is a necessity of prison life.) Edward Furlong's performance is so low key, it barely registers. Willem Dafoe, an actor of uncommon intensity, does what he can with what is basically a two dimensional character.

The main problem I found with the film is that most of the characters keep you at emotional arms-length. I don't have to love or hate a character to enjoy a film, but I do need to feel something. Otherwise, you just don't care what happens one way or the other. One of the few exceptions (despite the snarky title line above) is Mickey Rourke, who plays Jan, Decker's sad and damaged cellmate. Jan is probably the most accessible character in the film. You just know you've gone to a really weird place when the character you like and identify the most with is a flamboyant transsexual who dispenses sage advice through missing front teeth and whose makeup is pure Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Yikes!)

Tom Arnold has an especially effective cameo as a vicious bully who is looking to turn Edward Furlong's character into "Mrs." creepy hillbilly - or kill him - whichever comes first. Seymour Cassel has a small role as a world-weary prison guard who would like to help Copen - if only he would let him.

Animal Factory definitely has its moments. It is just that with a cast of this caliber, I expected more.

Average customer rating:

Like Soylent Green For Kitties!...
wonderful and wacky cult flick
GOOD MOVIE AND EXCELLENT COMMENTARY
Ted V. Mikels Takes On The Pet Food Industry!
A slightly above average low-budget schlocker

The Corpse Grinders
Starring: Sean Kenney , Monika Kelly , Sanford Mitchell , J. Byron Foster , and Warren Ball
Director: Ted V. Mikels
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005NG01
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Description

When the owners of the Lotus Cat Food Company, who manufacture an exotic, high-priced type of kitty chow, run short of cash, they find themselves in big trouble with their suppliers. The two disreputable partners soon turn to a new and plentiful source for product--fresh cadavers! Grave robbing and unreported murders soon provide plenty of raw material for "the food cats crave," but there's only one problem--cats all over town have begun attacking and killing their human owners, filled with a newly-found taste for human flesh! Experience maverick director Ted V. Mikels' independent terror classic in a brand-new transfer that will give you chills you never knew you had in you! For God's sake, don't watch it with your cat!

Customer Reviews:

Like Soylent Green For Kitties!..........2005-06-22

MMM-MMM-MMM, come and get it! Ted V. Mikels (Astro Zombies) brings us this delectable dose of cretinous carnage entitled, THE CORPSE GRINDERS. It seems that felines all over town are feasting on Lotus Cat Food, only to turn on their owners like tiny, needle-clawed, razor-fanged furballs of death! The guys at Lotus have been adding their secret ingredient (yepper, human flesh) and selling it to cat-lovers everywhere! Only a doctor and his trusty nurse seem to have a clue as to what's going on. Will they be able to stop these god-awful ghouls before tabbies rule the world? Can they put an end to the unspeakable horrors of the corpse-grinding machine? Let us hope so! Watch this one as part of a double feature with MOTEL HELL. Bon Appetite...

wonderful and wacky cult flick.......2004-09-17

This isn't for gore hounds but it is a treat for lovers of wacky cult cinema... and cat owners. The title and concept are great and this an enjoyably wacky little movie. The over-the-top poster on the DVD cover is a treat too. Not for everybody but a blast for those who "get" these types of things. I dug it. The commentary by Mikels is a delight!

GOOD MOVIE AND EXCELLENT COMMENTARY.......2004-03-30

First of all, the script and acting are OK, not great, but good enough. But what makes this flick worth seeing are the interesting characters: the lady with one leg, the retarded, funny looking janitor (Yes!, he gets a ride in the grinder.), the grave digger, and his loony wife with her doll that she thinks is her real kid. You see what I mean. The commentary by MIKELS is interesting. He certainly likes to do these things. The film footage, on the main menu, shows the corpse grinder in operation. Oh yes, the cats attacking their masters is stupid, but then that is part of the charm of this offering.

Ted V. Mikels Takes On The Pet Food Industry!.......2004-01-19

Wow. That's all I can say after watching this, one of the silliest (and conceptually grossest) of all of Mikels' films. I am a true fan of bad movies, but I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand the director's commentary is very interesting, even though it's disturbing what he finds funny (no surprise there, I suppose...), and it is a fun movie to mock in a kind of 'Plan 9' way (The 'sets' of the hospital are amazingly realistic! Not!), certainly the plot is silly and fun to riff on. In essence we have a corrupt, near-bankrupt cat food magnate running the Lotus Cat Food Company who decides to cut costs by grinding up corpses, cadavers, and later his own victims. (That's a plus: it certainly beats 'downsizing'; laying off all your employees in the States and exporting their jobs overseas, as is all the managerial rage today.) The only problem is that once the cats taste human flesh, they return to their wild roots and attack their owners, killing them in the most hilarious 'attack' sequences you have ever seen. It is wonderful watching the people holding onto the killer cats for dear life, trying to keep them from running away while making it look like a life or death struggle. Eventually a doctor and nurse couple finds out what's going on and confronts the evil cat food magnate in the climactic scene.

So much for the good part. The bad part is that while very unrealistic, the movie was still gross, in a disgusting, dirty way. The repeated scene of the meat coming out of the meat grinder was not really especially gory, but it was used about a thousand times and got pretty tiresome. I like these nutty, cult movies, but I think Mikels has done better, and way more amusing, movies, such as "Girl in the Gold Boots". If you have seen that movie as well, you will note that several key people are in both movies, and in fact they were filmed in the same year.

Overall, I decided on three stars for boring gore and general amateurishness, although I debated about giving it four stars which is probably what it would deserve for most grade Z movie fans. The deciding factor, interestingly, was an extra on the DVD. The DVD has several extras including the director's commentary track, a filmography, behind the scenes pictures (don't expect too much), and a video 'tribute' to the movie by Bentmen called 'Immaculate Contraption'. I found 'Immaculate Contraption' to be the five most painful minutes of cinema viewing in my life. It was badly produced (and not in a campy, fun way), the music was wretched, and it was generally putrid. That became the tiebreaker and earned the film three stars instead of the four I originally intended. Save yourself the pain. 'Immaculate Contraption' is neither immaculate or a contraption, but it positively is rubbish.

A slightly above average low-budget schlocker.......2003-03-29

This Ted V Mikels drive-in classic is definately worth at least a one-time glance. There isn't very much gore (as in some Herschell Gordon Lewis Productions) nor is there a lot of sex (as in most Russ Myer films) but this film does have some interesting characters and a unique storyline. It seems that the people at the Lotus Cat Food Company are using human flesh in their product in order to boost sales and sales are definately booming for the food "For Cats Who Love People". Trouble begins to unfold when cats all over town start to turn on their owners (the "cat attack" scenes in this film are totally off the wall!). Meanwhile, a young doctor and his blonde nurse begin to investigate the Lotus Cat Food Company and uncover the ghastly truth. The plot takes a strange twist when the company owners start using live cadavers in their product as opposed to the dead bodies they usually dig up from fresh graves...definately a must see for lovers of cult cinema! This DVD version contains the original theatrical trailer, commentary by director Ted V Mikels, a "behind the scenes" photo gallery, a rare music video entitled "Immaculate Contraption" and some highly entertaining trailers for other Ted V Mikels films.

Average customer rating:

Comprehensive overview of a fascinating place

Ends of the Earth: Death Valley

Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003XAMQ
Release Date: 2000-02-15

Description

Take a journey of discovery to a mysterious land. Death Valley is a place of ever-changing color and mood. Home to peculiar plants and uniquely adapted animals, this otherworldly atmosphere is etched into the American consciousness. Sense the stunning appeal of this powerful site, and discover why no one leaves Death Valley untouched. Join geologists for a fascinating tour of this place of incredible extremes. Learn the secrets of a remarkable land as you experience the mysteries, marvel and magic of one of the Earth's most extreme environments--the hostile beauty of Death Valley. Hosted by Peter Coyote (E.T.). Filmed in High Definition format.

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive overview of a fascinating place.......2000-03-13

This tape has just about all you might want to know about Death Valley--Geology, Geography, History, Climatology, History, and Scenery. It addition, it has some stunning views of the Valley. The original was filmed in High Definition, and it shows in the crisp imagery of this work. Also, the DVD medium perfectly suits the location--with its stability of color even for the bright, strong reds and golds of the location.