Critic Reviews

• Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

  Perhaps the greatest service Johnson does is to turn the event that spurred him to make the film -- the FBI labeling animal rights activists the top domestic terrorist threat -- into a crucial dialogue.

• Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

  It lets you off dizzy and confused, whereas the best documentaries leave you feeling that you've come to a settled perspective on a subject.

• Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

  The result, admittedly, is a bit of a din. But it's certainly interesting.

• John Anderson, Variety

  A miraculously evenhanded treatment of a snarlingly divisive debate.

• Peter Martin, Cinematical

  Your Mommy Kills Animals lays things out with historical perspective, tracing the roots of both the animal welfare movement and animals rights activism to England.

• David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com

  Johnson's not pushing buttons just for the sake of attention-getting, he's revealing just how hopelessly complicated the issue has grown.

• Kam Williams, NewsBlaze

  Ought to generate empathy for the plight of any living creatures currently subject to an existence defined by the whims of humanity.

• Eric Monder, Film Journal International

  Worth seeing by anyone who cares about animals.

• Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly

  That one can't quite decide if these charming men are heroes or villains is a mark of Johnson's calm, even approach to an issue seemingly fueled by emotions run amok.

• Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

  Powerful, angry and bizarre documentary.

• Chad Greene, Boxoffice Magazine

  It isn't only organization that the mildly anarchic Your Mommy Kills Animals sorely lacks, it's also a sufficient number of sources.

• Jason Anderson, eye WEEKLY

  Hard to beat that title, ain't it?

• Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

  Can't commit to an overview of the movement by looking at three groups or stick with the trial of the "SHAC 7." So an intriguing but too short tour of animal-rights issues is interrupted by a flatly chronicled court case.

• Barrett Hooper, National Post

  It's impossible to watch without having your point of view challenged - no matter which side of the issue you're on.

• Chris Knight, National Post

  Your Mommy Kills Animals is an eye-opener, raising tough questions about whether the movement deserves such intense scrutiny and punishment by the government.

• Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies

  Interesting and sometimes dizzyingly freewheeling.

• Nick Schager, Cinematical

  Those on both sides of the animal rights issue will find much to fume over in ... Curt Johnson's in-depth, eye-opening examination of the movement.

• Kam Williams, NewsBlaze

  Couldn't have arrived at a more timely moment, given the recent arrest of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on federal charges for hanging, drowning, electrocuting and beating dogs to death.

• Jim Hemphill, Reel.com

  It's the best kind of documentary, in that if you're a thinking person it is nearly impossible to watch the movie without having your point of view challenged and questioned.

• Norm Schrager, Filmcritic.com

  the most accessible, thorough chronicle of animal rights ever put to film.

Read all 21 critic reviews