Sweatshop

I picked up a copy of "Sweatshop" because it seemed like a fairly interesting slasher movie, and the DVD cover did have a certain appeal.

And now having seen the movie, I can say that it is a fairly average slasher at best. The story is straight forward, albeit a bit lacking depth and any real weight as to whom the killer and his two ghouls were and where they came from.

The story is about a group of young people, punks, emos and goths, who are at an abandoned building to set up a rave of sorts. But they are not alone there, and a deranged killer is going to turn the party into a bloody mess before the night is over.

What makes the movie bearable to sit through is the amount of violence and gore there is. The effects are nice and look realistic, which is really what is the major supporting factor that carries the movie. Plus the way that the violence and mayhem is executed is quite well, fun (in a morbid way) and inventive. There are some fairly interesting and brutal scenes to be seen throughout the movie.

As for the characters, well despite having cool costumes and outfits they turn out to be rather meaningless people that you don't really come to have any sort of relationship to as you watch the movie. It is not a matter of if they die - it is a matter of how. And the size of the hammer made from an anvil, well it just seems so ridiculous, as the guy can handle it so easily, and you can see that it is painstakingly fake as there is no weight to it as he lifts it.

For fans of macabre and violent movies, then you will surely find something enjoyable in "Sweatshop". But for fans of the horror genre, then you'll most likely find the movie to be plain and rather generic.

OK, I will sum up the movie. The main charters are flat, no personality except there is no reason to care so when they die, well you don't have to worry about another scene with them. At one point I asked myself, hadn't this guy already been killed? No he hadn't the main charters just weren't worth paying attention too. I LOVE "B" horror, but this is the first movie I have seen that you "just don't care" when someone dies. You don't even not like them and wish they would die.

If you are a "B" horror fan such as myself, why sit through it at all? Well let me tell you, the villains are VERY VERY good. You have no idea where they came from, why they are doing what they do and they still pull it off. There a huge fat guy wearing a welders mask welding a huge pipe with a blacksmith anvil at the end. Along with a group of female minions that are a cross between the girl from "The Ring" and a Harpy.

This bad guy and bad girls need to be reused in a well written movie. Like I said what a waste of great villains.

Like most splatter movies, "Sweatshop" features a melding of brutal violence with brutal tedium.

This one also has sexy ladies and a little bit of nudity, but unlike the violence, that is not put to much use and is mostly negligible.

This review could be used to describe basically any splatter movie. It's been the same story with every particularly violent slasher I've watched recently: from low budget affairs like "100 Tears" and "Headless" to better budgeted sleeper hits like "Laid to Rest" and "The Collector", these movies exist to show violence, and unfortunately, we still need things like plot and characters to string the violent scenes together.

If only the people who make these movies could show half as much zeal for telling a cohesive story as they do for showing intestines falling out.

The plot (not that you care) is about a few sexy Suicidal Girl types who break into a warehouse with their obnoxious male friends. Their reason for this is to start an illegal rave, so it's interesting that they are all dressed in punk style.

Anyway, the warehouse is not unoccupied, there are at least a couple of assailants hiding out there, and you can probably guess what happens next.

Interestingly (?) this one has more than just the usual one bad guy that slasher movies always hang their hat on. The bad guys in it look like something out of "Silent Hill" or "The Evil Within". There's only one bad guy who really got my attention though: a huge person wearing a welder's outfit and holding a massive sledgehammer.

The conclusion, a must-see for anyone who hates ravers, is actually something special, but will you still be paying attention by the time you get there?

I really wouldn't say that Sweatshop came as a disappointment. In fact it was the complete opposite.

Overall it isn't a good film. Its a movie that has poor acting and poor characters that you hate right from the beginning, but it feels very deliberate. The best thing about Sweatshop is that the most annoying characters are killed in phenomenal ways which gives you a strong sense of satisfaction!

The last 15 minutes of the movie is where it really kicks in.

Go and see Sweatshop if you are a fan of practical gore effects, because there aren't many movies out there that demonstrate gore as well as Sweatshop does!

In the intro, some naked girl finds herself in some abandoned plant. A cop arrives. But there's someone else at the plant. Both of them don't end up well.

Then a dreadful bunch of goth punks arrive to organize a party with lights and a dj at that same plant for some reason. The dialogue that ensues among all these people is mostly sex-related talk. Soon enough they meet two female ghouls with creepy teeth...and then the killer--some big welder dude who carries an anvil on handle with him. And then the killings start. Somehow the party still materializes, and then the killer crashes it.

You kinda want Sweatshop to be a nice horror B-movie. Unfortunately, it's not. It's a struggling C-movie. What this movie has to do with a sweatshop, no one knows. Colored lights are annoying, the darkness is annoying, the characters are mostly lame, the voice recording and synchronization are off most of the time, the music is terrible. A party with electronic dance music is one thing. Another is some electronic industrial noise thing that no one makes let alone listens to. I take that back since apparently the songs here are from bands that do that kind of stuff. But, man, it's just not enjoyable. The sound effect are also dreadful, mostly the same 80s inspired synthesizer sound. This movie is proof that multitasking just doesn't work. The director is involved in every aspect of the movie--not a good idea.

But that's the bad stuff. On the good side, we have the likable Peyton Wetzel and the hot Julin in the most enjoyable performances. These two are trying their best here. Then there's the fantastic gore, violence, and original death scenes. They're really good. The villain is also exceptional and has potential to turn this into a franchise. Overall, despite plenty of annoyances, the horror aspects nearly save this movie and the lovely Julin is a treat to see. I'm being more generous than necessary but the violence and gore make this movie worth a look.