Chop

Lance Reed (Will Keenan) is forced by a psychotic stranger to confront his duplicitous past. Seeking retribution for a crime, the man forces Lance to reveal his innermost secrets by systematically removing his limbs.

Will Keenan ("Terror Firmer") and director Trent Haaga are Troma veterans, and it shows. They take the fun of low budget and bring it here, in full force. I am actually surprised Lloyd Kaufman makes no cameo. (Who does make a cameo? Actually, Camille Keaton of "I Spit on Your Grave". Nice touch!)

You have to enjoy dark humor -- maybe even Troma humor -- to fully appreciate this. Should it be funny that a stranger terrorizes this guy's life and tortures him and his family? You know, probably not. But it is. Very, very funny.

This one feels like it goes on and on. A man is stalked and taken brutal vengeance upon by a mysterious figure from his crack-smoking past. Going after his family and eventually, his body parts, the antogonist won't stop until the protagonist remembers and apologizes for a transgression he can't remember! Although it's not as confusing as it sounds, it's twice as tedious. The plot is ambitious enough but the (over) acting is usually obnoxious, with occasional decent moments. The premise is creative, but silly. The special gore effects sequences range from 'meh' to pretty good, but nothing outstanding-that is, when the camera doesn't cut away from the violence. By the end of the film, I had quit caring about the big reveal and was saying "big deal..."

Lance Reed (Will Keenan) is happily married and life is good. While traveling, his car breaks down and Lance accepts a ride from a helpful stranger. (Timothy Muskatel) The stranger then proceeds to jokingly ask him who would he save in a hypothetical situation, his wife or brother.

Then, not so jokingly, he shoots Lance with a tranquilizer gun. He's rather annoyed at Lance, you see. Reason being, Lance did something on him years ago, that caused him to suffer. Now he's gonna make Lance suffer. Problem is, Lance can't remember who this guy is, and feels he doesn't know him from Adam. This enrages the stranger even more. Now he's gonna make Lance suffer even more. Bit by bit, and piece by piece, he will totally destroy every aspect of Lance's life, and the lives of those he cares about...

This sounds pretty grim from the premise, but Chop is actually one of the funniest horror comedies I've seen in ages. Trent Haaga, who cut his teeth with Troma, (and who also wrote the rather impressive Deadgirl) has created a dark but hilarious horror flick that pokes fun at torture themed horrors very effectively.

With great performances from both Keenan and Muskatel, as well as some belly laugh scenes and dialogue, not to mention some decent gore FX, it's a treat for any horror fan, particularly fans of torture themed horrors. This film really shouldn't work with such a premise, but it honestly does, and it went down a real treat with the crowd at the Dead By Dawn 2011 festival, where I caught it.

9/10 it's an excellent and very funny little horror and highly recommended. And all you exploitation fans out there... see if you can spot a cameo from Camille "I Spit On Your Grave" Keaton.

CHOP is the directorial debut of Deadgirl screenwriter Trent Haaga.

Will Keenan (Tromeo and Juliet, Terror Firmer) breaks down on the highway and is picked up by a stranger (Timothy Muskatell), who shots him with a tranquilizer.

What follows is crazy, and funny, and a bit gory. First his brother, then his wife, and Lance (Keenan) still doesn't know the stranger and why he has it out for him.

Things just get worse and worse for Lance. His past comes roaring back in retribution for his crimes until it all ends with him finally remembering the stranger - a perfect ending.

I rarely write reviews but this one merits it. I am a horror movie fan, 34 year old woman, and I absolutely loved "Chop" - it is one worth watching again and again. I would classify this as a dark/black humor horror movie, with a sharp sense of irony and wit about it. It has a lot of gore in it, and gratuitous buckets of blood, to satisfy the torture movie lovers out there, and it is genuinely bizarre, funny and highly enjoyable to watch. 10 out of 10 for ingenuity, original plot and story line, and all around great horror movie.

One thing I highly recommended is to go into this movie with as little information as possible, don't "expect" anything, and reading ANY spoilers will pretty much ruin it...other than that, make sure you have a strong stomach and a good sense of graveyard humor.