Porkchop

Released by: Independent Entertainment
Released on: December 6, 2011.
Director: Eamon Hardiman
Cast: Ruby Larocca, Ford Austin, Charles Sullivan, Robb Cobb, Dan Hicks, Erin Russ
Year: 2010
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The Movie:

Eamon Hardiman's low budget tribute to the backwoods slasher films of the eighties starts off with a bang as a couple go skinny dipping somewhere in the backwoods of West Virginia. After some flirting, they head ashore to screw and, before you know it, a giant guy in a pig mask has slashed his machete right through the poor dude's head. From here, we meet a group of teenagers/young adults who are all piling into a van to head out to the woods for some camping. There's the lead jock guy, Mike (Charles Sullivan), and his girlfriend Deborah (Ruby Larocca), her nerdy brother Richie (Chris Woodall) and his robot, Elron (voiced by Dan Hicks of Evil Dead fame!), a British punk guy named Ian, a slutty chick in tube-socks named Rachel (Erin Russ) and a cheerleader (Sierra Ferrell) - slasher movie stereotypes assemble!

Once they're out in the woods, Mike screws the cheerleader behind Deborah's back, Ian gets smashed on the moonshine two hillbilly store owners gave him when they stopped off for beer, Richie blows his chance with Rachel, who responds by getting slammed from behind by Elron and a guy named Porkchop (Robert Cobb), that aforementioned pig masked killer, runs around and slaughters people.

Made as both an homage to and a parody of the backwoods slasher films we all know and love, Porkchop is an insane mix of awful comedy and surprisingly eerie kill scenes. As such, the movie shifts in tone quite a bit and is likely to leave you wondering what exactly the filmmakers are going for, but as screwy as it all is, even during the slow middle stretch, it's never boring. This is a film that delivers comic relief in the form of stereotypes, be they the hillbillies that run the beer store (one of whom is a gay guy in a WHAM Choose Life t-shirt for some reason?) or be they jocks, nerds and sluts - all staples of the slasher film and taken to pretty ridiculous extremes here. Richie, for example, keeps getting one upped by the very robot he created (Dan Hicks is a lot of fun as the voice) to the point that, when he does get a shot with Rachel, who literally takes her top off and offers herself to him, he complains that he got his wang stuck in his zipper earlier - at which point we cut to a scene a few minutes later with Rachel down on all fours getting reamed from behind and loving every second of it. So yeah, the 'nerd' and the 'slut' factors are amped up considerably here, and the movie is just flat out ridiculous for it.

Contrasting this are the kill scenes. Robert Cobb is an imposing figure in his Motel Hell inspired pig mask, his eyes peering out from underneath reassuring us that yes, there is something else in there. When he kills, he doesn't mess around and the murder set pieces (which don't really get going until the last twenty-minutes or so) are creative and periodically grotesque. You've seen victims offed with a chainsaw before, but not like this.

Porkchop has got its share of flaws, however. That middle stretch… not much really happens there so how much you get out of it will depend on how much or even if the movie's comedy works for you. The acting is hammy and the script riddled with more clichés than you can count, though this is all part of the schtick. The low budget is readily apparent in the credits, in the camera work and in the effects, so those with an aversion to slipshod production values need not apply. With all of that said, it's hard not to have some fun with this one, as screwy and goofy as it all is.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Porkchop is presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen in a fairly erratic looking transfer. While most of the movie looks pretty clean there are shots here and there that show sever macroblocking and compression issues, indicating that maybe a lesser quality camera was used for certain shots. Once you remove that element the movie looks fine for the micro-budget feature that it is, but those scenes are distracting.

On the flip side, the English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is better than you'd probably expect, offering clean and clear dialogue and properly balanced levels throughout.

Extras include an audio commentary with Eamon Hardiman who is joined by Chris Woodall, who also did the effects in addition to playing Richie, and the pair discuss what went into getting this production done, what was involved in the effects, the casting, the locations that were used, and more. Aside from that, there's also a twenty-four minute Behind the Scenes segment that includes input from pretty much all of the cast and crew you'd care to hear from as well as a plethora of footage shot during the production. It's rough around the edges but it gives us a good look at how the headsplitting was done in the opening kill scene. The twelve minute Ian Speaks segment is quick interview with the actor who plays the British punk character and it details his involvement in the feature and who notes that Sean Penn didn't get buttfucked in order to play his character in Milk. Menus and chapter stops are also included.

The Final Word:

Some boobs, some blood, a guy in a pig mask with a chainsaw and a horny robot who does it doggy style - yeah, you could do a lot worse than this. The transfer is screwy in spots but the extras are decent and the movie itself, if you're in the mood for something simultaneously campy, creepy and dumb, is a lot of fun.