By GABE THOMAS
Starring Jake Busey, Lew Temple, Bai Ling
Written and Directed by Chad Ferrin
Breaking Glass Pictures
PIG KILLER is the latest addition to an exhausted exploitation subgenre audiences have long since lost interest in. Directed by Chad Ferrin, the film details the real-world crimes of pig farmer Robert Pickton (portrayed here by Jake Busey). PIG KILLER predicates itself on sick depictions of torture, rape and murder that transpired in the Vancouver area during the late 1990s.
True crime in horror cinema is hardly a new phenomenon. However, few films “based on true stories” take such gleeful pride in showcasing these atrocities. There is a sophomoric attitude with each extended scene of suffering playing out in inappropriately tongue-in-cheek ways, desperate to get on your nerves. Ferrin’s film carries the same energy as a teenager saying the worst things they can think of and asking if you’re offended. Being shocking is not the same as being compelling. The simple problem with PIG KILLER is that it has nothing to say, and it just keeps talking.
With the film’s relentless 122-minute runtime, a scene rarely goes by without some sort of slur or moment of casual misogyny slipping out. If there was some angle of satire or at least a convincing actor, perhaps this dated dialogue could cement the seediness of the world Pickton inhabited. Then again, I don’t think the writer-director of Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! puts much thought into the ramifications of offensive characters. The contempt for addicts and sex workers is sickening and dehumanizing. It’s also worth noting that PIG KILLER boasts an all-white cast, except for two Asian characters used as cultural punching bags.
The technical “prowess” on display is baffling at every turn. Scenes are either overexposed or so dim the action proves hard to make out. The soundtrack is bizarre, with seemingly constant needle drops ranging from punk rock to country to just about anything else. There’s a running joke in which cheesy ’80s songs play over sequences of drug use that manages to be one of the only effectively thought-out gags in the film. The performances, including Busey’s, lack direction. Everybody has the shallowest motivation imaginable, always expressed through a confusing, unfunny screenplay.
If you’re searching for an in-depth description (or warning) of what’s lurking in PIG KILLER, look no further. Lowlights include incestual sex between mother and son (with full-frontal nudity); a man whose penis has been bitten off by a pig, fellated in graphic detail; and Jake Busey masturbating while wearing a decapitated pig head – just to name a few. Although all of this sensationalism seems an attempt to create word-of-mouth for the movie, it’s certain that will likely never materialize. There is no cult-classic potential here. Even movies as mean as Eaten Alive or The Human Centipede present themselves in surprising ways that keep people coming back to them. Shock value isn’t enough to entice the masses anymore, and that’s going to take many middling filmmakers off the board.
PIG KILLER is a reminder that it takes more than a handful of gruesome scenes and cruel jokes to create a successful horror movie. What could have been in the leagues of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer or Maniac as an enticing, unflinching analysis of a mass murderer, devolved into degeneracy and laziness the moment it began. The true tale of Robert Pickton is unique, and his victims deserve to have their stories told, but this was the most disrespectful way to do it.
PIG KILLER from Breaking Glass Pictures is now available on VOD and Blu-ray.
