Here is a mutant story that’s intriguing enough to make me forget all about the X-Men. In director Thomas Cailley’s new film, The Animal Kingdom, people are mutating into hybrid creatures, part animal, part human—maybe they grow wings, or scales, or claws and much, much sharper teeth. Young Emile (Paul Kircher)’s mom is one of those mutants, and when she goes missing, he and his father are desperate to find her before something terrible happens.
Here’s the synopsis:
In The Animal Kingdom, a visionary new thriller that drops viewers into an extraordinary world where mutations in human genetics cause people to transform into hybrid creatures, François (Roman Duris) does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Emile (Paul Kircher), their 16-year-old son, on a quest to find her with help from a local police officer (Adèle Exarchopoulos). From acclaimed director Thomas Cailley, the film world premiered as the opening night selection of Cannes Un Certain Regard.
What the summary does not say but the striking trailer definitely shows is that Emile is also undergoing a major change—and this is not your normal sort of puberty. Reviewing the film, Variety‘s Peter Debruge said, “The Animal Kingdom isn’t a traditional genre movie so much as a coming-of-age story with a creature-feature twist — picture a moody French Teen Wolf, minus the laughs.”
Cailley’s influences run from Starship Troopers to the work of Hayao Miyazaki; the director said in a press statement, “I am very keen on the eruption of fantasy into our everyday lives.”
The Animal Kingdom is co-written by Cailley and Pauline Munier. It’s in theaters and on digital March 15th.
