Long Pigs

Odd Canadian film has two obviously first time documentary filmmakers following around a cannibalistic serial killer as he first stalks and kills his victims, then prepares them in stews and barbecues for consumption.

The way this is all show in nonchalantly and in such an off-hand manner adds to the dramatic effect as he literally hangs his prizes upside down, decapitates them and hacks them apart piece by piece, extracting "the best parts" for consumption along the way. The practical effects are absolutely amazing I must say. There is one incredible scene where they show him preparing an entire body in a very fast forward sequence that must have been a gruelling long shot.

The performances are all pretty credible here, and the movie is well shot. The winter Canadian scenery is nice to look at with one scene in particular showing New Years at the Toronto City Hall.

Fun fare for fans of the genre.

A truly great indie horror flick that flew way under the radar. Think Man Bites Dog + Behind the Mask + Street Thief, but with a charismatic cannibal as your murderous main character, and some gloriously morbid practical FX. Track this one down, it deserves a bigger fanbase.

It's the rare indie genre film that transcends its low budget with a balance of character work, witty humor, gore, and being engaging start to finish. Without spoiling much, an amateur film crew follows around a serial killer and connoisseur of human delights, Anthony McAlistar, documenting his murderous day-to-day routine, and eventually find themselves lending a hand in the ritual.

One thing that makes the film so enjoyable is the main character, played by Anthony Alviano. His performance as serial killer / human flesh connoisseur Anthony McAlistar elevates a micro-budget faux doc to an entertaining indie gem worthy of repeat viewings. He's calm, charismatic, menacing, and kinda likable (for a guy who kills and eats people).

Another asset worth mentioning are the practical FX. In one scene, after dispatching a prostitute with a club, we watch McAlistar completely dismember the body like an animal in a slaughterhouse. It's brutal, unforgettable, and won't disappoint gorehounds.

In a more "lighthearted" moment, the film crew documents McAlistar as he gleefully prepares a pot of human stew in his kitchen. As he slurps a spoonful for a taste-test, he waxes poetic about the decadence of eating human meat. It's a clever nod to Hannibal Lector, giving the archetypal cannibal a hilarious "foodie" touch. Brilliant stuff.

Long Pigs is screaming to be rediscovered. Easily one of my favorite indie horror / found footage / faux doc flicks, I hope to see it garner a sizable cult following someday. Whether or not that'll happen, I'm happy to have a copy in my collection.

Even though I'm not a big fan of mockumentaries, ( I prefer pure fiction or pure documentary, the mix is often neither fish nor fowl ), I had somewhat high hopes for this. But what can I say? I understand the reasoning behind the film; to give us a matter-of-factly view into the motives and actions of your next-door cannibal, contrast his unspeakable deeds and grotesque philosophical musings with his more mundane everyday-activities, and out of these contrasts horror shall grow. And often this recipe works very well, perhaps because this is so close to reality, many serial killers are often unassuming and tedious in their sheepish guise, the type nobody would suspect to be a killer. The film that comes closest to Long Pigs is of course Man Bites Dog, but in that film everything works and the end-product is a diamond.In Long Pigs on the other hand this approach doesn't work at all, and what you are left with is a boring man's life spiced up with a couple of scenes of slaughter for good measure. You know something is wrong when two thirds of the film is a yawn-fest of smalltalk, and one third is spent on the actual deeds. And even the sections of slaughter doesn't really convey any sense of menace and horror, fair enough the special effects are great ( hence the three stars ), but I could just as well have enjoyed an episode of Hell's Kitchen, at least there you get a certain sense of dread. Here, on the other hand, it is non- existing, and that, in a horror-film is a mortal sin. If you want a brilliant mockumentary, watch Man Bites Dog, if you want a proper cookery-class, watch Cannibal Holocaust or Cannibal. Avoid this snoozer.

Two young directors film the hunt and butchering of a prostitute by a local cannibal serial killer. This is interspersed with footage of a grieving parent, a psychologist and a detective. How will the story unfold?

There are some minor complaints to be made. For example, the cannibal (Anthony Alviano) seems younger and nerdier than expected, which took away some of the realism. The same for the police officer (Shane Harbinson) -- seemed very young, but presented himself very professionally. A fine actor, he easily could have passed for a real cop.

The radio DJ (Roger King) was the strongest and best-written role. His words were well-scripted and well-spoken, and the way his scenes book-cased the film really worked well. The film would have been good without him, but this pushed it from good to very good... perhaps almost great.

I appreciate the argument made that "how can it be wrong if it tastes so good?" This is reasonable. God or nature has made edible things palatable -- we learn what to eat by whether or not our taste buds enjoy it. If man was created tasting good, something would seem to be supposed to eat it. Why not other men? (There are moral questions here, of course, but at the very least, why do we not eat the flesh of those who have died?)

More than anything else, I have to call attention to the very good use of effects on the corpse... very, very good. The body contained skin, flesh, meat, guts, bones... I do not know how this was accomplished, but it may be the greatest corpse effect in movie-making history. I believe this honor belongs to Chris Bridges, who has been involved in the field for over a decade on a number of notable projects.

I would endorse this film. It is an interesting faux documentary, and with the work of Chris Bridges, it may have you doing a double-take. Did they use a real body? It is almost too difficult to be sure.

When the trailer for "Long Pigs" first hit the scene people were already dismissing the movie as being another flick trying to cash in on movies like "Blair Witch Project" or "Paranormal Activity". There were even some who were calling it a rip-off of the "August Underground" series. Basic assumptions from the trailer are understandable, it is a faux-documentary after all, but really there is more to the movie than that. If I had to compare it to anything there is only one movie that comes to mind and that is "Man Bites Dog".

Yes, this movie could have gone the cheap and easy way and been nothing more than another faux-snuff movie to appeal to the gore fans and make a quick headline of being a shock title. But "Long Pigs" clearly wanted to be more than that and is more than that; it wants to shock the viewers with realism instead of gore gags. The movie is about two would-be filmmakers following around a cannibalistic serial killer while including interviews of investigators and psychiatrists. Play the interviews against the actions of our killer, Anthony McAlistar to demonstrate that what we believe a killer is, may not actually be true.

This is what makes "Long Pigs" stand out; it doesn't go for the cheap thrill-ride of being a shock flick. It wants to get under your skin by portraying what a killer could be and is. It isn't necessarily the eccentric schizo writing things on the wall with their own feces; it's the person next door. Or in this case, the guy next door. The one we don't suspect, the quite one who blends into the crowd which is what makes it so frightening. It's the person we don't see coming. "Long Pigs" gets to you with this idea of it being the common man and then shakes you up as you watch this Anthony McAlistar character act nonchalant about what he is doing. While not exactly blowing your mind with psycho-killer philosophy the things he does and the things he says kind of brings cannibalism into a different light. Maybe because the actor portraying Anthony is able to sell this cold and frightening killer so well, it makes what he says that much more thought provoking. By questioning how we as a society look at our food and treat what we believe to be inferior creatures. Would it be or is it so wrong that if a person is stronger than another to be able to kill them and eat them if we choose to? This is how we view the animal kingdom so why does it change for people? Naturally, our upbringing and understanding of laws and morality tells us this is wrong, but to watch a person who doesn't see it the same way keeps you glued to the movie.

Because the movie chooses to focus on the character Anthony it doesn't dwell on the killings and butchering of the people often. There are several people killed but it is done in a much more realistic manner in that Anthony uses what will get the job done, most of which was a pistol with a silencer. For the butchering, you only get to watch him prepare two people throughout the entire movie. While disappointing to those who want gore it goes back to the movie getting to the viewer simply by the character and not so much his actions. You watch and get to listen to him treat these people as nothing but meat to be served for food while having the charisma of a cooking show host.

"Long Pigs" works so well because it doesn't dwell on the violence but on the people. While it is able to show Anthony as this cold blooded killer is able to do some truly unthinkable acts without batting an eyelash at it. It also points a finger at the "filmmakers" of the movie, like how "Cannibal Holocaust" asked us who are the real savages. "Long Pigs" asks us who is the psychopath, Anthony or these two men who are looking to profit and gain notoriety by exploiting the killer and the victims. In one of movie's more effective moments, we find out Anthony at one point killed and ate a child (a young girl) to see if "the meat" can be different merely by age. Once the filmmakers learn about this they go and interview the young girl's father and shows the callous and cold hearted nature of these two. It goes to show this is what is done and what lengths people will go to for a story in the world of media.

Going back to what I said earlier, if I had to compare "Long Pigs" to any movie it would have to be"Man Bites Dog". The two movies are so much alike I would say "Long Pigs" is the low-budget equivalent of "Man Bites Dog". I don't mean that in a bad way at all, but that's the best way to describe it. The movie effectively shows the twisted world and views of a killer who truly believes that there isn't anything wrong with what he is doing. The movie also takes a look at the type of people that we believe are serial killers and the contradictions that come with those ideas of who and what these people are. As well as looking at the roles these killers play in our society, how we as a race view the natural order of where the strong survive and the weak are killed. Our order on the food chain and our obsession with the media. "Long Pigs" is definitely a must see for those who are looking to get more out of their horror movies. -FilmBizarro.com