Killer animals in films: Reality vs fiction

Abstract

Among horror, drama, action, and scifi films, the subgenre of killer animals has been exploited since the very beginnings of cinema. A thorough search of horror/drama/action/sci-fi films with killer animals as the main antagonists was performed, and the data was confronted with the number of human deaths per year caused by animals. A review of movies involving killer animals shows that the animals that causes thousands of human deaths each year do not inspire fear or concern in movies and hence, in the public. This may be in part reverted by educating about diseases transmitted by these animals and the real danger that some animals represent.