Moviegoers to Get Message From Horror King Eli Roth Condemning Cruelty to Animals

For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2024

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

Following a spate of animal neglect and abuse cases across the country this summer, Eli Roth—whose new film Borderlands opens on August 9—has a special message for moviegoers. Horror buffs rushing to theaters to watch the latest film by the director of Cabin Fever and Hostel might be surprised to receive the special message starring Roth himself, in which he denounces real-life violence to animals. In the spot, Roth emphasizes that torture belongs solely on the screen and urges people to always report cruelty to animals.

“People see me, and they expect, ‘OK, something’s going to happen. Someone’s going to get beheaded,’” says Roth in an accompanying interview. “I wanted to use that attention that I get with violence in movies to draw attention to the problem of violence against animals.”

Each year, countless dogs, cats, and other animals are abused, tortured, or killed, and these crimes often go unreported. Studies have shown that people who commit violent acts against animals often move on to human victims, which is another reason to report any animal neglect or mistreatment to local law-enforcement authorities, animal control officials, or PETA.

Roth’s appeal will play before screenings of Borderlands at theaters in Hollywood and Los Angeles as well as in Windsor, Connecticut, where a dog was discovered tied tightly to a tree branch by his collar in a wildlife sanctuary; Lakeland, Florida, where a woman was charged with felony cruelty to animals after she fatally poisoned a neighbor’s pregnant dog and two cats; Boston, where an emaciated puppy was found abandoned in a filthy carrier near a dumpster; Salem, Oregon, where four teenagers were arrested for shooting and killing a pregnant cat; and elsewhere.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.