Animale

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1:25

Animale

2024

1h 38m

Drama

Fantasy

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

In the Camargue region of the South of France, there remains an infamous, long-standing tradition of bullfighting. Local youths participate in the elegant yet dangerous challenge, practicing a modernized version of the sport that seeks not to kill the animals but rather to showcase agility and dominance. Among them is Nejma, an intrepid twenty-two-year-old with dreams of one day winning the annual competition. The only woman working on the cattle ranch, she trains tirelessly to prove herself equal among the men, both in and outside of the arena. The ranchers share a deep respect for the bulls, though when a loose bull threatens the community of riders and young men begin turning up dead, a hunt to find and kill the creature begins. Nejma fears for the bull, beginning a dark, mysterious transformation of her own. The sophomore feature of French filmmaker Emma Benestan, ANIMALE is "a brutal disorienting horror fable burning with feminine anger," (AWFJ.org), and a thrilling entry into the body-horror subgenre.

Catherine Bray

Variety

The filmmaking is at its most successful when it moves away from dialogue-driven sequences and into the more visual, visceral aspects of Nejma’s chosen line of work.

May 23, 2024

Full Review

Jonathan Romney

Screen International

Animale boasts visual confidence to spare and a compelling, energetic lead performance from Oulaya Amamra... Disappointingly, though, the film never lives up to its bold scene-setting, falling into a pattern of obviousness.

May 22, 2024

Full Review

Xero Gravity

Blerdy Massacre Podcast

"The brutality in this sub-genre doesn't have to come from the assault, because this film was brutal, but it doesn't spoon-feed it to you"

Rated: 5/5

Dec 3, 2024

Full Review

C.H. Newell

Father Son Holy Gore

In the end, Animale is about how far too many men see both animals and women as consumable for their entertainment and satisfaction.

Rated: 4.5/5

Nov 19, 2024

Full Review

Ard Vijn

ScreenAnarchy

Animal left this viewer with an unbalanced and unsatisfied feeling. It's this what prevented me from outright loving this film, and I can't quite tell you all why because I'd have to totally spoil the film. Which, to its credit, would still be a shame.

Rated: 7/10

Nov 17, 2024

Full Review

Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

Overall, the story is good and so is the direction, the acting from the lead is fantastic and the rest of the cast is good.

Nov 6, 2024

Full Review

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Emma Benestan

Director

Oulaya Amamra

Nejma

Damien Rebattel

Tony

Vivien Rodriguez

Kylian

Claude Chaballier

Leonard

Elies-Morgan Admi-Bensellam

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Animale: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the Camargue region of the South of France, there remains an infamous, long-standing tradition of bullfighting. Local youths participate in the elegant yet dangerous challenge, practicing a modernized version of the sport that seeks not to kill the animals but rather to showcase agility and dominance. Among them is Nejma, an intrepid twenty-two-year-old with dreams of one day winning the annual competition. The only woman working on the cattle ranch, she trains tirelessly to prove herself equal among the men, both in and outside of the arena. The ranchers share a deep respect for the bulls, though when a loose bull threatens the community of riders and young men begin turning up dead, a hunt to find and kill the creature begins. Nejma fears for the bull, beginning a dark, mysterious transformation of her own. The sophomore feature of French filmmaker Emma Benestan, ANIMALE is "a brutal disorienting horror fable burning with feminine anger," (AWFJ.org), and a thrilling entry into the body-horror subgenre.

Director: Emma Benestan
Producer: Julie Billy, Naomi Denamur, Jean-Yves Roubin, Cassandre Warnauts
Screenwriter: Emma Benestan
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: June Films, Frakas Productions
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Original Language: French
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 8, 2025
Runtime: 1h 38m