Wild Beasts (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jul 25, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Franco E. ProsperiRelease Date(s)
1984 (July 29, 2025)Studio(s)
Shumba International Corporation (Severin Films)- Film/Program Grade: C+
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: A-
Review
What’s a “Northern European City” to do when the inhabitants of its local zoo drink water laced with PCP, causing them to turn wild, break loose, and slaughter all humans in their paths? That’s the premise for this entry in the “nature strikes back” genre, Wild Beasts (aka Belve Feroci). Directed by Franco Prosperi of Mondo Cane, Goodbye Uncle Tom, and Africa: Blood and Guts notoriety, this Italian animals-gone-amok mind-bender escaped relatively unscathed from censorship upon its initial release, and remained a VHS obscurity for many years until Severin Films’ Blu-ray release in 2017.
While being ridiculously entertaining for exploitation and Italian horror fans, Wild Beasts is also interesting in other ways. In some respects, it has the feel of a mondo film because of its content, but on other hand, it has some plot structure, slightly fractured though it may be. The characters aren’t nearly as interesting as the animals, which is about par for the course. However, there’s a twist of sorts at the end that really comes out of left field and goes into the kind of territory that makes you question how the filmmakers thought that using PCP as the sole catalyst for the bloodshed was a good idea in the first place. But then again, you have to take a step back and remember what you’re watching. In a film like this, logic doesn’t have much room to breathe.
Despite knowing that much of the animal attack footage was supervised by professionals probably doesn’t matter much either. While that certainly seemed to be the case, there’s still footage of real dead animals, as well as animals attacking other animals. Regardless of how it was handled, that’s still going to be a sticking point for many audiences. In fact, the opening ten minutes should give you a clear idea of exactly what you’re in for. Otherwise, Wild Beasts is outrageous with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and over-the-top gore. It also offers up a bit more in terms of scale than most films of its ilk. After all, you’re not likely to see a real cheetah running down an empty highway in the middle of an urban area, on film or otherwise, that often.
Wild Beasts was shot by cinematographer Guglielmo Mancori on 35mm film, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Severin Films debuts the film on Ultra HD from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10, and presented on a dual-layered BD-66 disc. This is a definitely a film that’s easier to appreciate the closer you get to the original camera negative since it can be so murky in lesser home video presentations. Severin’s 2017 Blu-ray was certainly a step up from that, but their new UHD presentation tops them all in terms of enhanced and tighter detail, especially in the shadows. Medium grain is handled well enough, though there are occasionally spikes, with the bitrate sitting mostly in the 80 to 90Mbps range. The opening and closing titles are the roughest sections visually, but there are mild scratches and speckling throughout. The HDR boosts the color palette, which is more even and natural, with deeper blacks and improved contrast. It’s also a more stable presentation, outside of those aforementioned title sequences.
Audio is included in English or Italian 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH for the English track, and English for the Italian track. The Italian audio is an upgrade over the previous release, which was presented in a lossy Dolby Digital container. The film was recorded and released in Dolby Stereo, and shot silent, primarily for an eventual English language release. As such, the English dubbing is more integrated into the final soundtrack than many other Italian films. Both tracks have a mild hiss present throughout, but stereo activity is frequent, often pushing ambient activity into the furthest registers, and moving score and sound effects around the sound field when needed. The Italian track has more of a low end push and seems a tad louder, but both tracks offer good fidelity, regardless of the chosen language.
The Severin Films 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD release of Wild Beasts sits in a black Amaray case alongside a Region A-locked 1080p Blu-ray and an insert featuring artwork from the original Japanese theatrical poster, but with English text. Available for through the Severin Films website is a Limited Edition double-sided slipcover, which uses the original Italian theatrical poster artwork on the front, and a version of the original Thai theatrical poster artwork on the reverse. The following extras are included on each disc:
DISC ONE (UHD)
- Trailer (HD – 2:25)
DISC TWO (BD)
- Altered Beasts (SD – 15:36)
- Wild Tony (HD – 12:57)
- Cut After Cut (HD – 34:56)
- The Circus Is in Town (HD – 10:28)
- House of Wild Beasts (SD – 12:42)
- Trailer (HD – 2:25)
This release carries over all of the bonus materials from the 2017 Blu-ray release, which includes a series of interviews by Freak-O-Rama Video Productions. In Altered Beasts, director Franco Prosperi details the original plans for the film and where it was shot, the ideas of pollution and drugs in every day items that influenced the story, the many problems faced with filming real animals on location, animal supervision on the set, and the film’s eventual release and distribution. In Wild Tony, actor Anthony “Tony” Di Leo (aka John Aldrich) discusses getting into show business after working in the circus, what it was like working with Prosperi, dealing with the various animals on the set, nearly being injured by a polar bear, his fellow actors, being mistaken as an American, and the release of the film. In Cut After Cut, editor and mondo filmmaker Mario Morra discusses his beginnings as an editor, meeting and working with Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, later working with Antonio Climati, befriending and being recruited by Gustavo Lombardo, his many troubles making and cutting films, and dealing with success financially. He also shows off his vintage Moviola and relates his experiences with his wife and The Battle of Algiers. In The Circus Is in Town, animal wrangler Robert Tibert’s son, Carlo Tiberti, talks about his family’s background in the circus and their work with animals on Wild Beasts. In the featurette House of Wild Beasts, David Gregory visits the home of Franco Prosperi to tour his private collection of memorabilia from his career and listen to his memories, including those with his former filmmaking partner Gualtiero Jacopetti. Last is the film’s international theatrical trailer.
Not included from the Region B Blu-ray from AL!VE in Germany is the Prosperi Uncaged interview with Franco Prosperi, the Italian theatrical trailer, and a still gallery.
By and large, Wild Beasts isn’t for everyone, even hardcore genre fans, and especially animal lovers. But for a film about animals attacking humans, it literally goes for the throat in ways that others don’t, all the while having a sly sense of humor, both intentionally and unintentionally. Severin’s 4K upgrade certainly presents the film in the best possible way, easily topping their previous Blu-ray release.
- Tim Salmons
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