Long Pigs

I'm so sick of found footage horror I could scream, but I saw Long Pigs last night and it was fantastic. I'd say it has to be in the top five best films of the genre. The practical effects were outstanding. Definitely watch the Special Features on how they made the bodies. The acting was a little weak at first, but they found their groove before the halfway mark and it really started to click. I have to say I saw the ending coming, but I was not disappointed by that. The score was probably the weakest thing about the movie. I would have preferred silence to the urban remix of "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies". I get the point they were trying to make with that choice, but to me that particular piece is way overused. It's on my blacklist with "O Fortuna" and the chorus from Beethoven's 9th. Just don't. The script was better than average. The acting got better and better as the movie carried on. Cinematography is always my complaint with these kinds of movies. I said the same thing about REC: This is supposed to be a PROFESSIONAL cameraman. He should be able to hold a camera still sometimes. I wish they hadn't fast-forwarded through the butchery scene. That could have been really horrifying if they had been able to pull it off realistically and we had gotten to see it. Overall, great flick. Not a rip-off of August Underground by a mile. I hate found-footage horror, but I loved this.

In LONG PIGS, two fledgling filmmakers make a documentary chronicling the exploits of Anthony McAlistar (Anthony Alviano), a serial-killing cannibal. This is intercut with interviews with a police detective, and an expert on psychopathic serial-murderers.

What is truly jarring about this film is Anthony's nonchalance as he goes about his gruesome business, explaining things, and answering various questions. The documentarians are also pretty laid-back about it all, in spite of the bloody horrors unfolding in front of them. They go along with Anthony for his liesure activities as well. This helps with the realism aspect.

The deadpan approach of LONG PIGS is quite effective, as it was in other such films, like MAN BITES DOG. As in that movie, this could be about any mundane subject, and it would feel the same. Of course, what makes this different from regular docs is the splatter and cannibalism. There are other similarities between the two movies, as in the increasing complicity of the filmmakers.

Make no mistake. There's some pretty shocking stuff here! Those who are easily disturbed might want to avoid this, or at least keep plenty of barf bags handy!

That said, this is still a superior "found footage / mockumentary" film. It's certainly humorous in a very dark, macabre, sometimes -extremely- cynical way. One time-lapse sequence is particularly well-done, gory, and bizarre, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

A classic of its subgenre, with a fantastic finale, and a satisfying epilogue...

A truly great indie horror flick that flew way under the radar. Think Man Bites Dog + Behind the Mask + Street Thief, but with a charismatic cannibal as your murderous main character, and some gloriously morbid practical FX. Track this one down, it deserves a bigger fanbase.

It's the rare indie genre film that transcends its low budget with a balance of character work, witty humor, gore, and being engaging start to finish. Without spoiling much, an amateur film crew follows around a serial killer and connoisseur of human delights, Anthony McAlistar, documenting his murderous day-to-day routine, and eventually find themselves lending a hand in the ritual.

One thing that makes the film so enjoyable is the main character, played by Anthony Alviano. His performance as serial killer / human flesh connoisseur Anthony McAlistar elevates a micro-budget faux doc to an entertaining indie gem worthy of repeat viewings. He's calm, charismatic, menacing, and kinda likable (for a guy who kills and eats people).

Another asset worth mentioning are the practical FX. In one scene, after dispatching a prostitute with a club, we watch McAlistar completely dismember the body like an animal in a slaughterhouse. It's brutal, unforgettable, and won't disappoint gorehounds.

In a more "lighthearted" moment, the film crew documents McAlistar as he gleefully prepares a pot of human stew in his kitchen. As he slurps a spoonful for a taste-test, he waxes poetic about the decadence of eating human meat. It's a clever nod to Hannibal Lector, giving the archetypal cannibal a hilarious "foodie" touch. Brilliant stuff.

Long Pigs is screaming to be rediscovered. Easily one of my favorite indie horror / found footage / faux doc flicks, I hope to see it garner a sizable cult following someday. Whether or not that'll happen, I'm happy to have a copy in my collection.

Two young directors film the hunt and butchering of a prostitute by a local cannibal serial killer. This is interspersed with footage of a grieving parent, a psychologist and a detective. How will the story unfold?

There are some minor complaints to be made. For example, the cannibal (Anthony Alviano) seems younger and nerdier than expected, which took away some of the realism. The same for the police officer (Shane Harbinson) -- seemed very young, but presented himself very professionally. A fine actor, he easily could have passed for a real cop.

The radio DJ (Roger King) was the strongest and best-written role. His words were well-scripted and well-spoken, and the way his scenes book-cased the film really worked well. The film would have been good without him, but this pushed it from good to very good... perhaps almost great.

I appreciate the argument made that "how can it be wrong if it tastes so good?" This is reasonable. God or nature has made edible things palatable -- we learn what to eat by whether or not our taste buds enjoy it. If man was created tasting good, something would seem to be supposed to eat it. Why not other men? (There are moral questions here, of course, but at the very least, why do we not eat the flesh of those who have died?)

More than anything else, I have to call attention to the very good use of effects on the corpse... very, very good. The body contained skin, flesh, meat, guts, bones... I do not know how this was accomplished, but it may be the greatest corpse effect in movie-making history. I believe this honor belongs to Chris Bridges, who has been involved in the field for over a decade on a number of notable projects.

I would endorse this film. It is an interesting faux documentary, and with the work of Chris Bridges, it may have you doing a double-take. Did they use a real body? It is almost too difficult to be sure.

Odd Canadian film has two obviously first time documentary filmmakers following around a cannibalistic serial killer as he first stalks and kills his victims, then prepares them in stews and barbecues for consumption.

The way this is all show in nonchalantly and in such an off-hand manner adds to the dramatic effect as he literally hangs his prizes upside down, decapitates them and hacks them apart piece by piece, extracting "the best parts" for consumption along the way. The practical effects are absolutely amazing I must say. There is one incredible scene where they show him preparing an entire body in a very fast forward sequence that must have been a gruelling long shot.

The performances are all pretty credible here, and the movie is well shot. The winter Canadian scenery is nice to look at with one scene in particular showing New Years at the Toronto City Hall.

Fun fare for fans of the genre.