Review of Black Sheep (2006) by Dawdlingpoet — 27 Nov 2021

To me this film was more funny than scary, so I'd categorise it as a hybrid comedy/horror film. If I were to compare it to other horror films, I'd say its similar to the Tremors films, with rather grotesque alien type beings on the prowl. I suppose given the basic plot line I knew roughly what to expect and younger viewers may (perhaps) be more easily scared but I suppose the plot seems so far fetched, that it didn't strike me as entirely believable and hence it seemed less scary to me. The special effects aren't too bad, certainly compared to films of the 1980s. I think the plot was so random that I went with it but I definitely found myself laughing more than quivering, put it that way!.

As a parody/spoof horror film this is quite good fun. It may make you jump once or twice and there are some unpleasant plot developments but the story seemed so far fetched to the point of being ludicrous. Obviously in some cases this is very much a bad thing but lets just say that this isn't a film that tries to take itself seriously, or it certainly didn't seem that way to me anyway. I wasn't really expecting much from it, just a few laughs and some gross out scenes and as far as thats concerned, it definitely delivered. I don't tend to watch much in the way of horror films these days, preferring comedies, dramas and thrillers for the most part and having seen one too many slasher style horror film as a teen but I did find this film quite entertaining. Plot wise, it seemed quite unclear what was happening and, moreso, why it was happening, at the start of the film. Its quite slow paced to start with, although the pace does speed up a bit after close to an hour. This film is probably not a good watch if you suffer from claustrophobia, I should perhaps add. Thematically, the idea of genetically altered livestock becoming deformed and almost demonic in nature may well sound both creepy, scary and laughable but the issue of human artificial intervention regarding genetics is a very real and important one. I also felt an element of human greed was also present, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly.

The musical score does a good job in regards to creating a very tense atmosphere and making you question when/where the next attack may come from, when the deadly sheep may strike again. The music played is predominantly instrumental and quite serious in tone. The mix of said musical score and some decent aerial camera shots pays off quite well. There are some good landscape shots during (obviously) outdoor scenes, while other scenes shot in the dark are very fast paced and can seem particularly claustrophobic.

This may not be the scariest film around but its certainly entertaining. I imagine it would scare children, certainly young children and pre-teens at the very least. Content wise, it contains graphic violence, although (as mentioned) it is done in a very exaggerated way so as to seem quite comical. To elaborate a little, there is a lot of blood present and some gore but I found it difficult to take it entirely seriously, though thats not to say that others couldn't. I should add that there is also strong language present and of course, generally some scenes could seem quite frightening/intense to a younger audience, hence the 15 rating its received. One very random thing that I noticed was that one of the main characters, a young adult female, goes by the name of Experience. I don't know about you but I've never known anyone else to have that as a name but there you go!. I suppose I've never really known anyone from New Zealand, where this film is set, to be fair.

At just under an hour and a half long, its a reasonable watch if you want to be entertained but if your a fan of Sheep or not a fan of blood, guts and gore, then you'd be better avoiding this. I found the ending particularly amusing, due to what the trigger was but I wouldn't want to go in to details so as not to spoil the film, obviously.