Black Sheep

This movie tickled my funny bone. Its got that great Kiwi humor, this the huge amounts of swearing, Maori jokes, and Kiwiana icons. Look out for the part with the Watties sauce, and the crazy Asian guy running across the screen.

The actors are pretty good, and Weta workshop must have been in their element with the splatter style film. You get a fright, then laugh because you realise its a psycho sheep. Sheep? C'mon. Some people may never be able to return to the farm again, but me? I have a whole new respect for the woolly guys. Put this move at the top of your must see list!

Oh, come ON people, stop ragging on it so bad! It's a horror comedy about KILLER SHEEP for crying out loud! How high-brow do you expect the humor to be?? How could you even think that it's trying to achieve the level of something like LOTR??! You say that they could substitute any animal in for the sheep & get the same cliché situations, but they didn't use just any animal, they used SHEEP, and there's something really hilarious about a 'menacing' medium shot of a sheep standing in a field looking at the camera. :) I just saw it at a midnight IFF screening & it was fun & cheesy, yet I dunno how campy you could call it, because the special fx were pretty amazing - kudos for weta for the animatronic puppets, morphing sequences & really good gross-out gore. Yes, it made the audience groan at some of the baa-a-a-ad jokes, but most of the time we were all laughing hysterically & clapping & cheering at the sheer ridiculousness of it all! I think the vast majority of the audience left the theatre with smiles on their faces & in a good mood! I highly recommend this film for anyone who wants a good laugh & enjoys sheep jokes. I mean, come on, it's not hard to appreciate the silliness of this. Go out & support this movie! I challenge you to sit through it & not laugh!

This woolly New Zealand splatter comedy hasn't got quite the same wit and originality as Jackson's Braindead, but in itself, it's a fun ride, no matter whether you love sheep or detest them.

The director finds the right balance between spoofing the genre and taking it seriously, which results in scenes being both mordantly funny and comically repulsive at the same time.

The plot's mere window-dressing to present one hilarious sheep incident after another. And some jokes work wonders in a childish sort of way.

A silly fun movie through and trough.

6 out of 10 were-sheep

I haven't the opportunity to follow many New Zealand movies, besides the recent memory of Sione's Wedding and In My Father's Den, both of which were of different genres, and mighty enjoyable. Written and directed by Jonathan King (who is also writing the Raintree produced movie The Tattooist), Black Sheep takes the well-established genre of zombie movies, and with its fusion of local flavour, presents its own worthy take in giving us the attack of the killer sheep.

Meh!

It's a crazy idea, but heck, I admit it was sheer wicked and twisted fun watching the usually docile (and may I say dumb?) animals turn the tables on us humans, and start going on a berserk rampage to munch on our flesh. Watching them hunt in packs was surreal, and happens to be one of the nightmares of Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister), who develops a phobia of our woolly friends after his brother Angus (Peter Feeney) played a cruel joke on him. The film fast forwards to the adult brothers, where the latter is planning to unveil his new "perfect" Oldfield sheep, and selling off the farm - why need the space when you can genetically engineer them?

Before you say, oh this is yet another movie which warns about the dangers and questions the ethics behind tinkering with genetics, you would probably think again when it made the environmental activists folks look like social outcasts, and totally bumbling, indirectly contributing to the zombie sheep phenomenon. I liked how the problem became two- pronged, in that the sheep became infected of course, and how its bite is now its worst weapon. And I'd bet you'll never look at another sheep, especially the baby ones, in the same light again, ha!

The plot's fairly straightforward to follow, with its villains (the scientists and of course, the raging sheep) and its heroes clearly spelt out - Henry, his farm hand Tucker (Tammy Davis), housekeeper Mrs Mac (Glenis Levestam), and an activist with an interest in Asian fengshui and zen sayings, called, check this out - Experience (Danielle Mason), who together actually form quite a lovable team whom you'll root for to get out of this mess.

With the animatronics and special effects done by Weta Workshop, you can expect some top notch gore, though I thought that despite it being a zombie flick, it lacked copious amounts of blood splatter. Chewing raw flesh may be stomach curling, especially when the details of such dastardly deeds are not spared, and the camera lingers. Transformational scenes were also fun yet eerie to watch, and if you think you've seen the best of these scenes from various werewolf movies, wait till you get a load from this one!

Black Sheep makes no apology to its violence, sexual innuendoes or toilet humour. In fact, it celebrates them, to tragic-comedic effect. However it knew how to rein itself in, and the farting-sheep-shagging jokes never goes into overdrive. The acts of violence too had a fair share left to the imagination, though I thought there probably was some scrimping in expected chase and attack sequences. If you're in for some light entertainment, then Black Sheep is probaaably your wicked choice for the week.

Black Sheep is the sort of film that will appeal to fans of Pete Jackson's and Sam Raimi's early horror comedies - especially Braindead and Bad Taste (Jackson) and the Evil Dead series (Raimi). Like these low budget 'schlockers' Jonathan King's film is well made and does not take itself seriously. Unlike these films, however, Black Sheep is not very self-consciously low budget. Since the film consistently parodies low-brow, low-budget horror films, the film-makers were able to very nicely exploit the gimmickry of these films without losing any artistry or credibility along the way.

Black Sheep is the story of two brothers from a New Zealand sheep farming family. Henry Oldfield (Meister) is terrified of sheep and has alienated himself from his family estate in order to seek therapy. Angus (Feeney) is a sociopath, sadist and rising provincial politician who loves sheep. Angus, of course, wants to make better sheep. And predictably, has genetic scientists set up in a barn on the estate who are performing grisly and disturbing experiments which somehow result in rabid, homicidal zombie sheep and were-sheep. A couple of macrobiotic eco-warriors are thrown into the mix (a brilliant touch) to round out the cast.

Of course, the plot is the weakest element in this film. But this is completely consistent with the film's mission as a genre and self-parody. The strongest elements are the excellent (though still hilarious) effects and art design by WEDA, directing and editing, the fine cast, fun characters and good script. King directs the film economically (a rarity in this genre) and the final cut wastes not a frame. The film is also very nicely shot - each scene - especially the sheep stampedes - is engaging and nicely paced. Every horror genre cliché is presented at one time or another, and most are exploited mercilessly.

Great film for fans of the genre. Not recommended for others.