User Reviews

"Maneaters Are Loose" might actually be a pretty good TV movie from 1978, however I cannot recommend seeking out the overpriced "Wild Eye" DVD. The colors have been degraded to a sepia tone throughout, with badly blurred images. The sound is far better than the picture. As for the movie itself, it is a blending of community characters, a pornographic peddling preacher played by Harry Morgan, local laid back sheriff, Tom Skerrit, pompous ass official, G.D. Spradlin, and big game hunter, Steve Forrest. The tiger attacks really don't get going until well after the film's half way point, and the ending is unexpected. - MERK

A sleepy town is thrown into chaos when two big cats are set loose on the community, resulting in myriad problems for the local police chief and his besieged deputies, nobbled by political interference from an obstinate county sheriff, and the spectre of townsfolk ending up as cat food for the marauding predators.

Competently handled and suspenseful, Director Galfas manages to interweave multiple plot threads and develop good momentum, culminating in a thrilling climax and a conclusion in which all questions are satisfyingly resolved. A strong cast deliver an intelligent script, with Tom Skerritt performing his trademark laid back style, harassed at one end by G.D Spradlin as a domineering sheriff living in palpable denial, and the urgency brought to bear by the affable, and mysteriously well informed ex game hunter, Steve Forrest.

Despite the made-for-TV budget, "Maneaters Are Loose" isn't diminished by its small-screen origin, with a well paced narrative, engaging characterisations and well-choreographed big cat attacks, which belie the limited scale. Overall the movie manages to conjure a sense of mystery and speculation that's capable of having you on the edge of your seat.

Aside from the principals, who all deliver first rate performances, Col Potter -Harry Morgan - drops in as a creepy religious zealot with more than the good lord on his mind, and Dabney Coleman in an all-too-brief, but key cameo as the catalyst for the ensuing mayhem. Obscure and not easy to locate on the DVD market, "Maneaters Are Loose" is a worthwhile watch, if you get the opportunity.

Maneaters Are Loose! (1978)

* (out of 4)

Extremely bad made-for-TV movie has a crazy farmer letting loose a couple maneating tigers, which soon start stalking a California town. Many people turn a blind eye to the matter at hand but a detective (Tom Skerritt) knows something isn't adding up as more people go missing. I enjoy a good made-for-TV movie as much as the next person but this one here is just pure boredom. I could never get involved in the story because of the rather poor writing and it appears none of the cast members were too thrilled with their characters because most sleepwalk through the film. I've always enjoyed Skerritt but you can just look at his face and see that he's incredibly bored here. I'm not sure if he had any habits at the time he made this movie but he just really seems to be wishing he's in another movie or perhaps there's something else wrong. Stave Forrest and Dabney Coleman have supporting roles but don't add much to the movie. The biggest problem is that there's a lot of dialogue scenes but none of them are interesting. I believe it was meant to deliver some character development but that never happens and in the end you can't help but wish the tigers would finish everyone off so that the movie would be over.