Review of Black Sheep (2006) by Tim B — 30 Oct 2008

Johnathon King could very well be the next Peter Jackson. Before Jackson became famous for his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "King Kong" his claim to fame was two excellent splatter movies: "Bad Taste" and "Braindead." Both are cult favourites and revered worldwide. "Black Sheep" is New Zealand's new horror/comedy and it is literally bloody fantastic. With an original and funny plot, a great bunch of new actors, loads and blood and gore and some genuinely funny humour, this movie is destined for cult status and for what it is, it is a flawless movie.

At a young age Henry Oldfield gained a fear of sheep thanks to a cruel prank his brother, Angus, pulled on him. Many years later and Henry returns to his now deceased father's farm to get some money of his now wealthy brother. Unfortunately two hippies, Grant and Experience, have decided to infiltrate the lab on the farm where sheep are being genetically experimented on. After one of the hippies grabs a sample and spills it, all the sheep become zombies and everyone must band together to find a way out of the farm alive.

This ludicrous plot is one of the many reasons I think this movie succeeds in everything it does. This movie doesn't strive to be the next best thing, it was just made to be a fun and enjoyable cinema experience and that is what it was. All the actors do a decent enough job, no award winning performances but they get the job done. The script was very funny: there is dry humour, intelligent humour, satire and of course, the occasional fart joke. The gore is plentiful and WETA workshop deliver some amazing special effects. I don't want to give away too much, but gorehounds will love this movie for the numerous feastings, the offal pit, blood, guts, zombie sheep and severed body parts.

A perfect score may seem very generous but I am a huge fan of over-the-top splatter flicks and like "Bad Taste" and "Braindead" this succeeds in being a 100% enjoyable experience.

5/5.