Sweatshop

I picked up a copy of "Sweatshop" because it seemed like a fairly interesting slasher movie, and the DVD cover did have a certain appeal.

And now having seen the movie, I can say that it is a fairly average slasher at best. The story is straight forward, albeit a bit lacking depth and any real weight as to whom the killer and his two ghouls were and where they came from.

The story is about a group of young people, punks, emos and goths, who are at an abandoned building to set up a rave of sorts. But they are not alone there, and a deranged killer is going to turn the party into a bloody mess before the night is over.

What makes the movie bearable to sit through is the amount of violence and gore there is. The effects are nice and look realistic, which is really what is the major supporting factor that carries the movie. Plus the way that the violence and mayhem is executed is quite well, fun (in a morbid way) and inventive. There are some fairly interesting and brutal scenes to be seen throughout the movie.

As for the characters, well despite having cool costumes and outfits they turn out to be rather meaningless people that you don't really come to have any sort of relationship to as you watch the movie. It is not a matter of if they die - it is a matter of how. And the size of the hammer made from an anvil, well it just seems so ridiculous, as the guy can handle it so easily, and you can see that it is painstakingly fake as there is no weight to it as he lifts it.

For fans of macabre and violent movies, then you will surely find something enjoyable in "Sweatshop". But for fans of the horror genre, then you'll most likely find the movie to be plain and rather generic.

Somewhere, someone said: "OK, let's find an abandoned warehouse, fill it with annoying, expendable young people, and kill them off in horrible ways! It'll be the best movie ever!" Then, 2 seconds later: "Oh yeah, and let's bring in a hillbilly and a huge guy with the world's biggest hammer (aka: a steel pole with an anvil on it)!".

SWEATSHOP explores a man, his sledge-o-matic, and the punks he pulverizes. In between homicides there's mindless chatter and rave party decoration. These in-between times make up a lot of the movie.

Gorehounds will rejoice, as the splatter quotient is quite high. The Beast (hammer man) and his female cohorts eliminate the intruders by means most grisly! Anyone looking for anything other than a slippery bloodbath could be very disappointed...

In the intro, some naked girl finds herself in some abandoned plant. A cop arrives. But there's someone else at the plant. Both of them don't end up well.

Then a dreadful bunch of goth punks arrive to organize a party with lights and a dj at that same plant for some reason. The dialogue that ensues among all these people is mostly sex-related talk. Soon enough they meet two female ghouls with creepy teeth...and then the killer--some big welder dude who carries an anvil on handle with him. And then the killings start. Somehow the party still materializes, and then the killer crashes it.

You kinda want Sweatshop to be a nice horror B-movie. Unfortunately, it's not. It's a struggling C-movie. What this movie has to do with a sweatshop, no one knows. Colored lights are annoying, the darkness is annoying, the characters are mostly lame, the voice recording and synchronization are off most of the time, the music is terrible. A party with electronic dance music is one thing. Another is some electronic industrial noise thing that no one makes let alone listens to. I take that back since apparently the songs here are from bands that do that kind of stuff. But, man, it's just not enjoyable. The sound effect are also dreadful, mostly the same 80s inspired synthesizer sound. This movie is proof that multitasking just doesn't work. The director is involved in every aspect of the movie--not a good idea.

But that's the bad stuff. On the good side, we have the likable Peyton Wetzel and the hot Julin in the most enjoyable performances. These two are trying their best here. Then there's the fantastic gore, violence, and original death scenes. They're really good. The villain is also exceptional and has potential to turn this into a franchise. Overall, despite plenty of annoyances, the horror aspects nearly save this movie and the lovely Julin is a treat to see. I'm being more generous than necessary but the violence and gore make this movie worth a look.

Seriously, if you want high art this movie is not for you. If you want a movie that sets you up to root for the cast to get killed in fantastic ways, then you need to watch this film.

I'll be honest, I almost turned it off at the 25 minute mark. VERY bad acting, and a setting (a rave. Really?) that I didn't care about, but once the killer enters the fray it's incredibly creative.

The gore is off the charts and worth a watch to any true horror fan. I watch EVERY bad horror flick in hopes of finding gems that stand out. You'd be surprised at how many low budget horror movies don't have any effects in them these days.

I can handle a bad movie. That's what cult cinema is all about. But I can't handle a BORING movie. This movie, once past the 25 minute mark, is definitely not boring. It's blood-soaked and it's beautiful.

What we have here is a cheap horror movie with terrible dialogue who's only saving grace is its bad guys and quite impressive gore scenes.

The movie starts with a naked goth chick being killed. Then for 20 minutes you just watch the rest of the non acting cast spout the terrible, unfunny dialogue and dance. I'm not even joking there is a 5 minute scene of three of these idiots just dancing. The set up of this movie is a little dated. I don't know if it is supposed to be set in the late 90's but judging by all the cheesy goth attire and the fact they're going to a secret rave it should be.

When we finally get to the meat of the film what we actually get is a lot of meat. The gore scenes in this movie are actually very impressive and if like me you were just constantly annoyed by the pathetic characters, you'll enjoy seeing them smashed by a giant hammer in ever more inventive ways. The main bad guy 'The Beast' is also a pretty imposing figure. Both the gore and 'The Beast' are what made me score this movie any points.

I wouldn't seek this movie out. Just wait until it's on the horror channel and watch for free, you'll enjoy it more that way.