Massacred by Mother Nature: Exploring the Natural Horror Film

By Lee Gambin.

Birds do it, Bees do it, even educated fleas do it—plus frogs, alligators, dogs, wolves, hurricanes, sharks, Trees, Thundertorms....they all do it, Turn on Humans with bloody results, all in blood red color! Massacred by Mother Nature is a sentimentally heartfelt look at this extremely popular and prolific subgenre we call the natural horror film. Since Hitchcock initially gave us his frightening flock, the natural horror film is much-loved, not only by horror movie fans, but by cinephiles who revel in great storytelling and enjoy the carnage bought on by the paragon of animals. These films, as popular and highly successful as they’ve proven, are also seldom discussed or referenced, so I offer an insightful interpretation and critique on numerous angry animal movies I adore. From the electrically-driven evil worms in Squirm, to the vengeful killer whale in Orca, and to the sheer brilliance of the menacing bear in Grizzly (a film made by a maverick filmmaker that far too many know nothing about; a genius taken away from us too soon, Mr. William Girdler), this book is to enlighten and offer clear insight into the movies, as well as the people involved in making these movies so memorable, for fans like myself.