Long Pigs (2009)

Long Pigs is a mockumentary in the spirit of "Man Bites Dog". Two filmmakers follow Anthony, a cannibalistic serial killer as he does his thing. The two document the entire process, from the stalk, to the kill, to the eventual cooking and eating of Anthony's victims.

You may think to yourself, that this has been done recently with the film "Behind The Mask", and while that might be a fair comparison, it is also fair to state that the two films couldn't be more different. Where "Behind The Mask" was more of a comedy, "Long Pigs" is absolutely haunting, and eerie. Anthony Alviano does such an amazing job at portraying "the serial killer next door" that his presence will haunt you long after the credits roll. There is something about the matter of fact way he goes about his business, humming as he carves the meat from the suspended corpses of his victims. The sense of joy that you can see in Anthony's face as he's preparing his meal is sinister. Even going as far as joking that if he ever gets caught, the way he will capitalize on his crimes will be to publish a cannibalistic cookbook.

This film is living proof that practical FX trump CGI any day of the week. As disturbing as it is, the effects are absolutely gorgeous as Anthony is carving his victims up. One scene in particular, displayed in fast motion, Anthony completely "dresses" one of his hanging cadavers, and it is extremely convincing, and very well executed.






The acting, as mentioned above, is one of the best parts of the movie. All roles are played very competently and believable, but it's Anthony that steals the show. While it's not entirely believable that a serial killer would let a film crew record him in action, it's at no point over-the-top.

First time directors Chris Power and Nathan Hynes have the potential to become big names in the indie horror realm. An absolutely solid first time outing. The writing is clever, the story is very interesting, and at no point does the film drag. It's quirky and interesting from the first frame until the last credit rolls.






I was a tad apprehensive at first, to be completely honest. While the premise sounded extremely interesting, we've been beaten to death with these first person style mockumentaries for the past five years or so. In my opinion, "Long Pigs" is one of the best examples of how this style of filmmaking is done right. It's smart, it's interesting, has an amazing range of supporting actors, and actually feels genuine. I highly recommend this film to any fan of indie horror. The film has haunted me since I finished watching it, and it takes a seriously well crafted film to do that.

8/10









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