Black Sheep

Went to see this kiwi movie today. It is classed as a drama but is in reality a very gory horror-comedy. I like NZ horror movies a lot (re: Peter Jackson) for this lack of fear in showing human/animal guts and having people fall into a pit of this stuff, arms and legs looking for a grip, but sliding through the muck.

The movie is about genetic engineering of sheep (anyone remember Dolly?) and a 'greenie' who is out to save the poor tortured animals. When scientists aren't looking he steals a vase and inside is a deformed, dead looking fetus of a mutant lamb. Running away from the scientists chasing him, he trips and the vase goes flying and smashes off screen. The fetus is suddenly alive and attacks the greenie's ear, stretching and ripping at it. He drops to the ground screaming. The fetus runs off and starts biting sheep.

Something very similar to this storyline, me thinks. Storyline? There is one? Yes, there is, but it is very basic and it works for this slapstick gore filled film.

Henry Glenolden has had a fear of sheep since he was ten and living on a farm. He was the golden boy and a born natural farmer. He had a pet sheep and his (envious? jealous? both?) brother kills the sheep with an axe and guts it. Henry goes looking for his pet sheep and finds it hanging and dripping blood, skinned and headless. His brother, Angus, wears the sheep's head and rushes screaming at Henry, who falls to the ground and freaks out.

15 years later he is returning to the farm to sell his portion of the largest farm in the region for a cool 2 million. His brother is working with scientists to create a new breed of sheep. The prototype is finished and about to be unveiled.

During a ceremony the genetic sheep calls out to his buddies, the infected sheep and they charged down onto the people and rip them apart and start feeding.

Henry and love interest, Experience (the funniest character--I think she is the real star of this movie) and friend Tucker must fight off the sheep, scientists and Henry's money hungry brother, if they ever expect to get the farm back to the way it used to be.

Basic storyline and B-grade film, cheaply made but acted well and filled with fantastic humor and classic jokes. The movie is 97 minutes long (87 minutes in Canada--why is that?) and from the get-go you're sucked into the movie and laughing your arse off and going, "Eww" at many gore-filled scenes.


Catch it if you can. Here you can watch a YouTube trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-dOi1QunHg