Slaughter (2009)

Note: This review is part of my coverage of Horrorfest III.

Slaughter

Slaughter was my least favorite of the three movies I saw today - not to say that it was actually bad. It's about a girl who moves into the city to restart her life after getting away (supposedly) from an abusive boyfriend. She befriends a farmgirl and even moves onto the farm with her, only to find out that not all is safe on the farm.

A couple things confused/bugged me about this film. Firstly, the main characters made a point of needing fake id's to go out clubbing, and yet they clearly looked old enough not to need them - in other words, fake teens? Secondly, I was kind of disoriented by the fact that the characters would seemingly switch between being out on the farm, and shopping (or clubbing or whatever) in the city - multiple times per day - like as if the city were just down the street from the farm or something. And thirdly, I have to say it bugged me that "sexy farmgirl" was having sex with the ferrari guy with her clothes on. For a horror movie, this is unforgivable.

The majority of the story may have been so-so, but I have to say that the ending really redeemed this title. I'm gonna go ahead and try to piece together the details of the plot, so if you're worried about spoilers, stop reading now. The film unambiguously sets up sexy farmgirl's rough 'n tough farmer father as the villain, but we get quite a treat of a twist-up (or two or three) near the end. It's a little ambiguous as to who did what, but if we can trust the farmer father's words (which isn't a certain thing), he wasn't the killer, his daughter was. What is clear is that they're both pretty messed up, if you consider all the evidence. But what makes the ending so much fun is, firstly, how it goes back and forth - she's gonna make it! she's never gonna make it! - and how in the very end, the villain gets her victory - and in quite brutal fashion, too. This one's definitely got the "exploitation ending".

At any rate, it turned out to be more than the typical "farmer splatter story" I was expecting it to be, and some of the scenes in the slaughterhouse, with the pigs and the darkness, were actually quite creepy. I'd say it's worth a spin - for the ending alone, if nothing else.