By
Al Kratina
July 13, 2007 - 23:11
Your Mommy Kills Animals
2007 USA
Director: Curt Johnson
Writer: Curt Johnson
Cast: Paul Watson, David Martosko, Jerry Vlasak, Joss Stone, Christopher Hitchens
Producers: Curt Johnson, Earl Easley, John P. Hamilton, Nathan Deal, Dennis Bank
Web:
MySpace: Your Mommy Kills Animals
Running Time: 106 minutes
Distributor: Halo8 Releasing
Rating: Not yet rated
Genre: Documentary
The first film to be presented in the Fantasia Film Festival's "Documentaries From The Edge" series was Your Mommy Kills Animals, a much-hyped film that examines animal rights activists, a group which the FBI has labeled the number one domestic terror threat in the United States. While saving the whales is not something that would normally be the talk of the town at a horror/fantasy festival like Fantasia, within moments of the film's beginning, it's evident that the documentary has more of a bite than a Doberman. Wait, someone just set fire to my computer for making that joke. Let's rephrase: more bite than those old Barq's root beer commercials.
Director Curt Johnson has crafted a remarkably even-handed documentary. For audiences used to the manipulation and polemics of Michael Moore and 9/11 conspiracy theory films distributed over the Internet, this may come as a bit of a shock. For those, however, who are looking for a more reasonable dialogue,
Your Mommy Kills Animals, despite its inflammatory title, may be just the thing. I've a suspicion that depending on which side of the issue you stand, the film will seem to slant mildly in the other direction, but it takes great pains to present both sides of the story. On the film’s one hand are the activists, all of whom care deeply about several of the cuter species of animals, and only a few of who are crazy. On the other hand sits a corporate mouthpiece or two, who make valid points about the questionable and sometimes horrifying tactics used by the activists while clearly fantasizing about strangling a seal at the same time. The focus of the documentary is mainly the trial of six members of Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty organization, known collectively, for some reason, as the SHAC7. The group is dedicated to brining down a company that experiments on animals, but nearly all of its leadership has been arrested on terrorism charges. Another focus is the Animal Liberation Front, which organizes itself into cells clearly modeled after terrorist groups. The Front was originally a British group, until releasing that rage monkey from
28 Days
Later forced them to flee to the US. At times graphic, occasionally slow, but always informative and reasonable,
Your Mommy Kills Animals isn’t necessarily ground-breaking, but it certainly has an edge, though perhaps not one sharp enough to skin a seal. I mean, peel a potato. Don't burn my house down.
Rating: 8 on 10
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