Verdict
Summary
From writer / director Chad Ferrin, Pig Killer really blindsided me with its ultra grungy in-your-face excesses, which I expected to a degree, but the film has a genuine style of its own and a sensitivity and off-kilter sense of where to insert songs on the soundtrack that gave the movie a spoonful of sugar when it was at its nastiest. This is one of the most unusual viewing experiences I’ve had of any movie in a very long time. At times, I wanted to hate it, but there were moments where I really, really liked it too.
Plot:
A charming, but deranged pig farmer kills women as a hobby.
Review:
Canadian pig farmer Robert “Willy” Pickton (Jake Busey in a vivid portrayal) is both charming and deranged. He hangs out in bars, drinking root beers and scoping out the local ladies with a mind that’s not exactly clear and clean: He has startling visions of his abrasive, late mother (played by Ginger Lynn in a very unflattering role) who goads him and verbally berates him. Is this why Willy stalks women of the night and brings them over to his smelly farm where he rapes them and slaughters them and feeds them to his pigs? Whatever the reason, Willy has been doing it for years, with prostitutes going missing right and left, and he’s yet to be caught, much less suspected, but when he picks up, rapes, and slaughters his latest victim (played by Bai Ling in another very unflattering role), he triggers an investigation by a pair of detectives (played by Robert Rhine and Michael Pare) who are following a tip that Willy’s truck was last seen picking up Ling’s doomed hooker character under a bridge. Willy realizes he’s now on the police’s radar, but he carries on with his deranged behavior regardless: He kills another hooker in the meanwhile, and he’s planning a rave at his farm, which he’s famous in the area for. His raves have a reputation for being over the top and out of control with drugs, orgies, and great live bands that play to hundreds of locals who love Willy for his free drugs and free fun, but this latest rave is going to be the one that tops them all when one of Willy’s would-be victims (played by Kate Patel, a real find) manages to escape his clutches, running half naked through the party-going crowds, oblivious to the fact that their host is a deranged killer.
From writer / director Chad Ferrin, Pig Killer really blindsided me with its ultra grungy in-your-face excesses, which I expected to a degree, but the film has a genuine style of its own and a sensitivity and off-kilter sense of where to insert songs on the soundtrack that gave the movie a spoonful of sugar when it was at its nastiest. The movie has totally unnecessary graphic insert shots of genitalia, which push the film into a different category, and since Ferrin really “goes there” with the rape and gross-out scenes the audience for the movie diminishes, which is too bad because there’s an audience for this that can be broader. What I really appreciated of the film was its great selection of nearly nonstop rock, country, and synth songs, all of which somehow elevate the movie somehow, despite all the odds. This is one of the most unusual viewing experiences I’ve had of any movie in a very long time. At times, I wanted to hate it, but there were moments where I really, really liked it too. Busey is excellent in the movie, giving a borderline campy performance, but there’s a scene he shares with his co-star Kate Patel in a bar where they’re just talking, and it’s a great scene. Patel is quite a find, and I hope she’s cast well in the future the way she was cast here. Kudos to Ferrin for finding her and directing her the way he did. The movie is too long at 122 minutes, but I never found the movie boring at all. If the description above sounds appealing to you, then you’re this movie’s audience.
Darkstar released Pig Killer on Blu-ray last year, and it comes with a bunch of bonus features, including a making-of, deleted and alternate scenes, interviews, and more.
