“A great documentary on the stupidity of keeping wild animals as pets” — Bill Maher
“Jaw-dropping” – Orlando Sentinel
“Downright disturbing… a must-see” – A. Breen, FLARE Magazine
ORLANDO MOVIE EXAMINER
April 10, 2010 —
The Tiger Next Door is a great documentary about an incredibly fascinating subculture often not given any thought by anyone, which is possibly why things have gotten to the point they have. The movie starts in 2005 with Dennis Hill, a big cat keeper and breeder. In the 1990’s he got a fancy shmancy USDA license to house large animals like tigers and cougars. He bought a couple of cats and loved it. So it he bought a few more. And a few more. A bear here, a leopard there, and before you know it, Dennis Hill has over twenty large animals in his possession.
And all of these animals are just in homemade cages and pens in his backyard. Living in Flat Rock, Indiana, there is a lot of open land, with hundreds of yards between homes and farms spacing everyone out. But his neighbors were still pretty nervous about him having a veritable zoo on his property. So nervous in fact that they even have a town hall meeting about Dennis Hill’s practice of keeping and breeding animals. And Mr. Hill had to sit there with a sh*t eating grin and listen to people attack his character as well as his animal collection. Fortunately for Mr. Hill, a number of people came forward in the same meeting and said they knew Mr. Hill and trusted him and would put their babies in his tigers’ mouths if he said it was cool. So it’s not a one-sided issue.
Mr. Hill also lost his USDA license so he was forced to give up all but three of his animals by a certain date, or else Big Bad Government would come in and take all of the animals away. So a majority of The Tiger Next Door is about Mr. Hill trying to unload these animals on people all across the country. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get rid of a bear. People seem to fear them for some odd reason. Maybe it’s those giant skull crushing pawsies they have, I’m not sure. They also hang out a bit with this fella Joe Taft, director of The Exotic Feline Rescue Center, and he turns out to be a nice cinematic villain for Mr. Hill (or hero, depending on your own personal point of view). Joe Taft wants to see Dennis Hill shut down and even confronts him on his sloppy habits and practices, but Dennis Hill just shrugs it all off and insists things went otherwise.
There is some really awesome footage in this movie, including the wrangling of some very spooked and very large animals, and also some sad footage of animals in kind of crappy conditions. Dennis Hill is great for this movie because he makes for such a complicated character. He obviously loves all of these animals and wants to do good by them, but he also knows the monetary values of each animal and at one point had a nice business going. He even managed to breed his tigers so they would also give birth to white tigers because they are more valuable, and has been holding out hope for an all-white tiger, which would be like hitting the big cat lottery. The problem is that he keeps breeding cats to get to this white one and more of these animals are being born into captivity, as well as into a world in which more tigers are in captivity than there are in the wild.
This film has been picked up by Animal Planet TV for television distribution, and they cut it down to a 43-minute movie for an hour-long presentation (gotta get those Meow Mix commercials in there), so you could see essentially half the movie on TV now, or you could check out the whole thing at the Florida Film Fest (as well as other regional festivals around the globe). And this movie spans a large amount of time, allowing for more of a feeling of closure as the movie ends. It’s hard making a movie for over five years, waiting for events to unravel and hoping to be around to get it on camera. — Christopher Crespo
THE HUFFINGTON POST
November 10, 2009 — Afghanistan is a nasty, dangerous place. When a journalist covering that war, I’m hounded by the thought, “I could be torn to shreds any second.” Several weeks ago at the Woodstock Film Festival watching THE TIGER NEXT DOOR, it occurred to me, “I could be torn to shreds any second in America.”
At the center of this excellent documentary is Dennis Hill. Stringy long white hair and beard, open and engaging personality, determined and dedicated to pursue his peculiar occupation. Peculiar what? Dennis has living in his backyard 24 tigers, 3 bears, 6 leopards, one cougar and other assorted wild beasts. A breeder of large felines (until recently licensed by the USDA), he is especially obsessed to breed a stripeless white tiger, which, not incidentally, could fetch the perpetually impoverished Dennis as much as $150,000. There is, however, a problem.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources conducts a surprise inspection of his Flat Rock, Indiana backyard operation and slaps Dennis with numerous violations that range from cages not locked to stagnant water in drinking bowls. He is ordered to reduce his wild animals to only three — and within one month! Although Dennis hopes to get some of his animals back, to keep any he must find homes for nearly all of his over 30 wild animals.
THE TIGER NEXT DOOR chronicles Dennis’ desperate attempt to place his animals with other breeders while the film also addresses whether Dennis Hill should be allowed to breed these dangerous wild animals in his backyard. By focusing on this particular case in Indiana, the documentary highlights what has become a growing national problem: caging of dangerous animals on private property under unsatisfactory conditions. A growing problem that has even spread to a neighborhood near my apartment — in the middle of New York City!
Experts estimate, according to the film, more tigers are now living in cages in the United States than are roaming wild in the world. And that’s not counting the two legged ones.
Filmmaker Camilla Calamandrei moves swiftly through a cast of people who support Dennis and those who oppose his backyard facility. This includes neighbors and government authorities, family members and animal-rights activists. While some make sense, others make less sense. Many are strongly loyal to Dennis, yet one individual appears bent on not only ending Dennis’ operation, but destroying Dennis.
This tapestry of opinion moves us inside a community in conflict over an emotional issue. Calamandrei expresses her views without polemics, thankfully. She’s fair and we know where she stands.
So, is Dennis Hill a nut case for boarding people-eating cats in his backyard? Or is Dennis merely a genuine individualist doing his thing? Maybe an eccentric during a time when eccentrics are no longer tolerated?
The issue is not whether Dennis Hill loves his wild animals, since he clearly does — although not necessarily in a healthy way. The issue is can he adequately care for these dangerous animals and ensure they will not become a threat to the community? Or maybe the question is why should we take a risk with his homespun, underfunded operation?
THE TIGER NEXT DOOR is made beautifully and challenges thinking adults — the cinematography is flawless, the narration is informative without dominating, the narrative is seamless.
THE TIGER NEXT DOOR does what good documentaries do: illuminate an important subject that is under the radar screen, deliver solid information and a diversity of opinions, and leave viewers informed and concerned about a serious issue. And in this case, a serious one that is quickly becoming a crisis. Recently in Pennsylvania a woman was killed by a bear when cleaning its cage … in Connecticut a woman was mauled by her friend’s 200 pound pet chimp … in California — well, just read the paper and you’ll know where the next tragedy strikes.
First, however, you might want to check out who is actually living next door. Half of the fifty States, we are told, allow residents to own tigers without any special qualifications. Does yours?
And where this excellent film ends is where activism needs to begin. Two organizations in the thick of the battle, Born Free and Humane Society of the United States, are pressing states and the federal government to closely monitor and strictly regulate wild animal ownership. Check them out, before a tiger checks you out.
– Stewart Nusbaumer
NUVO Newsweekly
July 15, 2009 — TOP PICK. Scraggly biker dude Dennis Hill had been raising wild animals in his Flat Rock, Ind., backyard for over 15 years when the Indiana Department of Natural Resources showed up for a surprise visit. They found plenty of infractions – standing water, unlocked cages – and ordered Hill to winnow his coterie of 24 tigers, three bears, six leopards and a cougar down to just three animals. The Tiger Next Door follows Hill during his quest to find his animals what he deems a good home.
Director Camilla Calamandrei gives ample screen time to several concerned parties besides Hill: the DNR, Exotic Feline Rescue Center Director Joe Taft (who, after taking in some of Hill’s tigers, confronts Hill about his neglectfulness in an emotionally charged scene late in the film), Hill’s neighbors, Hill’s family. But by the close of the film, Calamandrei can’t conceal her outrage at the practice of breeding, running a montage of news photos of dead and abused tigers found across the country as an extrapolation of Hill’s own efforts at breeding the lucrative and rare solid white tiger.
The viewer might be similarly outraged after seeing instances when Hill, a convicted felon who begins to seem dangerously negligent, puts his community in danger. But Hill isn’t solely responsible or unique, and Calamandrei suggests that the DNR might also be blamed for failing to adequately enforce guidelines (not to mention those who create a market for tigers — dead or alive — in the first place).
It’s a must-see, as a detailed character study and piece of vigilant reportage. — Scott Shoger
THE FILM YAP
July 14, 2009 — 4.5 Yaps (of 5) Camilla Calamandrei’s impressive second film harkens back to an older form of documentary, one that is reportorial in form and refuses to take sides. She painstakingly presents the facts, interviews virtually every side of the issue, and leaves it up to the audience to make up their minds. In this age of documentaries that are more interested in polemics that careful analysis, “The Tiger Next Door” is a refreshing throwback.
Her subject is the growing trade of breeders of lions, tigers, cougars and other large felines. As the number of regular people owning these exotic, dangerous animals has increased in recent decades, so has the reckless dissemination of these creatures to people not fit to keep them properly. The result is malnourished and mistreated animals, made to live in cages far too small for them, indiscriminate breeding of cubs to make a profit, accidental injury or death of human caretakers, and in the worst cases slaughter and harvesting of the animals’ carcasses for meat, skulls and skins.
The subject is Dennis Hill, a veteran breeder from Flat Rock, Indiana. He is quite a character, with long white hair and a beard so untamed it completely covers his mouth, so you can’t see his lips move when he talks. He is thoroughly independent, someone who’s carved out a life by rules of his own making, and he resents any imposed on him by the government, or anyone else. He has a pioneer spirit wrapped in the trappings of a hippie.
Dennis has more than 20 large felines at his farm, and as we first meet him they seem well cared for. The cages are small, but big enough for them to move around in. We observe him cutting up 2,000 pounds of turkey meat with a power saw to feed his cats every week. He also has an undeniable rapport with these huge animals, nonchalantly strolling into their cages and petting them like friendly tabby cats.
But Dennis is being threatened with shutdown by the authorities. His federal breeding license has been revoked due to some poor conditions, and Calamandrei shows the Indiana Department of Natural Resources video that shows cages with huge gaps in the walls, and a rain-soaked tiger sloshing through a muddy cage. The state has ordered him to give away most of his animals, with a public hearing for his neighbors to voice their opinion about whether he should be issued a state license. So the film is structured around the 30-day deadline Dennis has to find new homes for these lions and tigers, and the forces — pro and con — gathering for the hearing.
Is Dennis a bad guy? Even the state officials who regulate his farm decline to say so. Rather, Calamandrei points to the broader issue of allowing non-professionals to own large felines. One expert talks about the psychology of hoarding — people gather more and more animals out of a desire to protect them, and come to believe that no one can care for them as well as they. Dennis freely admits that he is probably guilty of hoarding, but he does it with 500-pound cats instead of 10-pound ones.
Right at the beginning of the film, we are smacked with some jaw-dropping figures: There are now more tigers in captivity than free in the wild. Half of the 50 states allow residents to own tigers without any special qualifications.
“The Tiger Next Door” examines the larger issue by focusing on a single case, and shows how the problems that exist on the micro level — Dennis breeds cats to sell so he can continue to support his existing ones, leading to a never-ending cycle — have an impact throughout the country, and the world. This little Indiana story has plenty of bite. –Christopher Lloyd
NOW Magazine
May 5, 2009 —This is the fascinating, infuriating study of Indiana resident Dennis Hill, ex-biker and recovering meth addict turned keeper and breeder of exotic animals, as he tries to find new homes for his various tigers (and two bears) after an inspection by the Department of Natural Resources forces him to radically downsize his operation. At first, Hill seems like a decent enough eccentric whose fondness for animals has led him to take on too much responsibility, but the longer he’s on screen, the clearer it is that he’s become dangerously arrogant about his own capabilities. He loves his big cats, but you can understand why the local enforcement officer can barely keep from slugging him.
It’s a great story, told with intelligence and compassion and some amazing footage. — Norman Wilner
Eye WEEKLY
April 29, 2009 —The title of The Tiger Next Door sounds like a Neko Case B-side, and its contents recall the singer’s recent comments to Eye Weekly: “somebody’s been mauled by a tiger and everyone’s so shocked… It’s a tiger!… what the fuck do you want it to do?” Camilla Calamandrei’s doc — about an Indiana ex-con who raises tigers in his backyard much to the chagrin of his neighbours and a growing chorus of animal-rights activists — functions at once as an affectionate profile, a damning exposé, and an urgent missive about the dire status of the magnificent animals stalking the edges of the frame. — Adam Nayman
https://www.eyeweekly.com/
FLARE magazine
May, 2009 — This movie was just downright disturbing. Did you know that there are more tigers living in captivity than there are in the wild? The film focuses on a tiger collector living in the U.S with 24 cats living in small cages in his backyard. Unfortunately, there are no laws to protect these animals in much of the states or Canada. This movie is a must-see for animal rights’ activists and anyone else who is interested in the conservation of our planet and its inhabitants. — A. Breen
AOL Canada
April 23, 2009 — 4 stars — It’s one thing to have a ferret, but quite another to have upwards of 60 exotic animals, including several tigers, black bears, and cougars confined in cages in your backyard. In Camilla Calamandrei’s unsettling film, we get a front-row glimpse into the life of Dennis H., a former meth addict, felon, and biker, whose apparent ‘dedication’ to the animals clouds people’s judgement. Not for the animal lover, this film questions the fine line between compassion and obsession. — Chris Jancelewicz
The Panic Manual
April 23, 2009 —Toronto – There’s an epidemic in the US, and no it is not the Swine Flu (yet). Experts claim that there are more captive Tigers in the US then there are in the wild. Most of them are housed in shoddy conditions by breeders and despite the love that their owners have for them, many people have a different opinion. The documentary THE TIGER NEXT DOOR explores this issue, focusing on a particular individual named Dennis Hill, a self proclaimed tiger lover who houses 24 Tigers as well as cougars, black bears and lions on his acreage. The documentary explores why people like Dennis would house so many wild animals on their land as well as what the general reaction is of the people around him. Would you want to live beside someone who houses upwards of 50 man eating beasts in their backyard? Probably not.
The documentary is a fascinating one. You can see why an animal lover like Dennis would want to keep animals beasts captive (he loves them, there is no doubt), but at the same time, it’s incredibly frustrating to see such magnificent animals housed in small cages. A good documentary addresses the issues from all angles, and Camilla Calamandrei does that rather well, interviewing law enforcement agencies, nature types, other breeders and also friends and family of the breeders. The lead character Dennis also has an interesting back story that I will let you discover (no, it was not as an extra for zz top). All in all, a good documentary on a topic that not many people are aware of. Next time you drive by a road side zoo, you might think twice before going.
https://www.panicmanual.com/
HOT DOCS Q&A by Mike Sauve
May 08, 2009—For anyone who’s ever felt slightly guilty while visiting the caged animals at the Toronto Zoo comes THE TIGER NEXT DOOR, the balanced portrait of Dennis H, a straggly bearded former meth addict who at one point owned upwards of 20 tigers. Dennis clearly loves his furry, ferocious friends, but the question director Camilla Calamandrei asks is, at what point does an intense love of animals make you into the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons or something worse?
“I think most of us who love animals don’t look at the suffering we create for them daily, “ says Calamandrei. “Dennis breeds tigers that at best will live out their lives in small cages. I take my son to the zoo, paying money to an organization that keeps a polar bear that is clearly miserable.”
Dennis is the film’s main subject, easily commanding his screen time. He’s got an independent, anti-government, “from my cold dead hands” bent that has endeared him to some audiences who, like himself, don’t want a government agency messing in their business. “People have a surprisingly wide range of reactions to Dennis,” says Calamandrei. “Some people really want to like him, others are outraged by him.”
His local enemies, including a man who runs a tiger refuge populated by several of Dennis’ castoffs, are given their share of interview time and they condemn him without mercy. His most powerful enemy is a neighbouring landowner straight from central casting, intent on bringing “the meth dealer” down. In fairness, Dennis’ meth-dealing days are long behind him, but it’s clear this tiger dealer (he gets between $75,000 and $150,000 for a white tiger) isn’t the most popular guy on his block. One neighbour makes the shocking claim that he found a severed tiger head in his field.
Dennis is ordered to get rid of all but three of his beloved friends. We watch a difficult goodbye as one tiger is nearly too wild to get into a transportation cage. Dennis is forced to give away tigers he knows will breed the lucrative white tigers, and naturally he’s not too thrilled about it. “I had been following tiger stories for two and a half years when I came across Dennis’ story in the paper,” says Calamandrei. “I knew he’d be a great candidate for a film. It wasn’t until I’d hired a crew and bought airline tickets that he sent me a photo of himself with a tiger. When I saw what he looked like, I was pretty sure we’d found our guy.”
Calamandrei hopes the film sparks a larger debate about the ethical implications of hoarding or caging animals to fill a void in the lives of their human captors.
“All over the country we allow people to adopt domestic animals repeatedly, even if they have surrendered or abandoned animals before. As individuals, and as a nation, I think we are wildly irresponsible about the animals in our care, despite our love for them. Mostly we are selfish. I don’t think Dennis is alone in this.”
“The Tiger Next Door” is a gripping moral tale, in which some of the ‘good guys’ emerge thoroughly unlikable, and some of the ‘bad guys’ sometimes invite a spark of sympathy. Beneath the debris of human hubris and failure, human irresponsibility and jealousy, are bears, tigers, cougars and other large wild animals kept in private captivity –prisoners in a diminished world that systematically denies what it is for them to be who they are. The film deserves the largest possible viewer-ship, both because of the questions it raises about keeping wild animals captive, and because of the questions it raises about being a human being.
–Tom Regan, Culture and Animals Foundation
“The Tiger Next Store” is an exceptional expose on the exotic animal trade in the United States. The film focuses on the morally skewed world of one exotic animal breeder and his journey from compassion to collector. His life serves as a treatise on the ethical and psychological implications of animal hoarding, exposing how cruelty is sometimes confused for compassion – and it quietly asks what we as a society are prepared to do to help the animal victims of this human disorder. If you care about animals, great or small, this film is a must see.
— Ed Boks, Animal Welfare activist and Animal Welfare Executive
Very well done. A true tragic tale… — L.A. Tekancic, WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society March, 2009
Gripping. If the possibility of being killed by a tiger in the USA never crossed your mind, it will now.
– C Baskin, Big Cat Rescue March, 2009
Before there was Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness on Netflix there was The Tiger Next Door on Animal Planet.
The Tiger Next Door is an independent, feature-length documentary film directed and produced by Camilla Calamandrei, Rolling River Films.
For more information write: TheTigerNextDoor@gmail.com