IMDb RATING
4.8/10
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The owner of a roadside diner and his new waitress kill people and feed them to a pen of 12 pigs.The owner of a roadside diner and his new waitress kill people and feed them to a pen of 12 pigs.The owner of a roadside diner and his new waitress kill people and feed them to a pen of 12 pigs.
Catherine Ross
- Miss Macy
- (as Katherine Ross)
Bruce Adams
- Pig Farmer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Produced & directed by legendary character actor Marc Lawrence - known for his many gangster roles - the somewhat obscure curiosity "Daddy's Deadly Darling" (a.k.a. "Pigs" and "The 13th Pig") is nothing if not interesting. It's actually kind of appealing in its warped way, largely because it's just so sincere. The dialogue (screenplay by Mr. Lawrence, billed as "F.A. Foss") isn't always the greatest, but it's delivered with as much gravitas as the cast can muster. It's well shot by Glenn Roland and features a haunting refrain and score by the consistently reliable Charles Bernstein ("A Nightmare on Elm Street" '84, "Cujo").
This is largely a vehicle for Marcs' daughter Toni, a pretty and leggy young woman who stars as Lynn, a mystery lady running from something who arrives in a small California community. She takes a job as a waitress in a local cafe, working for a man named Zambrini (Mr. Lawrence), an elderly man who lived through a devastating accident when he worked for a circus. On Zambrinis' property are a dozen pigs, and it is rumored by the locals that these pigs got used to the taste of human flesh long ago, and that Zambrini will resort to murder of drifters in order to keep these pigs fed.
Ultimately, the developments in Lawrences' story aren't all that surprising, but the presentation is just offbeat and atmospheric enough to make this an intriguing viewing. Ms. Lawrence does a decent job as the disturbed Lynn, and her dad is likable (for a change) as Zambrini takes a paternalistic care towards his new employee. '70s drive-in favorite Jesse Vint is fine as the local sheriff, and there are other solid contributions by Jim Antonio, Catherine Ross, Paul Hickey, Walter Barnes, and Erik Holland.
It's commendable that boutique labels such as Vinegar Syndrome, which released this one on DVD & Blu-ray this year, are doing such a fine job of resurrecting little known cult / exploitation titles like this and giving them such impressive presentations.
Eight out of 10.
This is largely a vehicle for Marcs' daughter Toni, a pretty and leggy young woman who stars as Lynn, a mystery lady running from something who arrives in a small California community. She takes a job as a waitress in a local cafe, working for a man named Zambrini (Mr. Lawrence), an elderly man who lived through a devastating accident when he worked for a circus. On Zambrinis' property are a dozen pigs, and it is rumored by the locals that these pigs got used to the taste of human flesh long ago, and that Zambrini will resort to murder of drifters in order to keep these pigs fed.
Ultimately, the developments in Lawrences' story aren't all that surprising, but the presentation is just offbeat and atmospheric enough to make this an intriguing viewing. Ms. Lawrence does a decent job as the disturbed Lynn, and her dad is likable (for a change) as Zambrini takes a paternalistic care towards his new employee. '70s drive-in favorite Jesse Vint is fine as the local sheriff, and there are other solid contributions by Jim Antonio, Catherine Ross, Paul Hickey, Walter Barnes, and Erik Holland.
It's commendable that boutique labels such as Vinegar Syndrome, which released this one on DVD & Blu-ray this year, are doing such a fine job of resurrecting little known cult / exploitation titles like this and giving them such impressive presentations.
Eight out of 10.
Good Times! Marc Lawrence makes another memorable character in the old, crotchety Zambrini - an ex-circus performer who supposedly came back from the dead after a tragic high-dive. Well, now he owns and operates a little cafe in the middle of nowheresville and feeds his pigs dead humans after midnight. As luck would have it, his newest employee of the cafe is a runaway psychotic from an insane asylum who likes to cut up men who come on to strong to her. She is really the film's main character and, as it turns out, Daddy's Deadly Darling is actually Marc Lawrence's deadly daughter in real life. Seems that he wanted to jump start his daughter's career so he gave her the lead. Well, unfortunately, she doesn't carry nearly enough quirkiness or depth to bring that character to life, unlike her father, who is a real gem to watch.
As a director, Mr. Lawrence had some good ideas to make some creepy, uneasy scenes to watch, but the version I watched (called PIGS) was very choppy and sloppy from an editing standpoint and the camera seems to enjoy shooting things in pitch black darkness. That's low-budget for you, but there's still something charming about this otherwise standard '70s exploitation fare. And any movie that has Marc Lawrence in it is, by default, going to have something going for it.
As a director, Mr. Lawrence had some good ideas to make some creepy, uneasy scenes to watch, but the version I watched (called PIGS) was very choppy and sloppy from an editing standpoint and the camera seems to enjoy shooting things in pitch black darkness. That's low-budget for you, but there's still something charming about this otherwise standard '70s exploitation fare. And any movie that has Marc Lawrence in it is, by default, going to have something going for it.
Toni Lawrence stars as a psychotic young woman who kills her father after he rapes her.
This film is pretty bad; many scenes just don't make sense and some of them seem to come out of nowhere. On the plus side, a lot of the dopey characters are fun to watch (especially Zambrini), and the movie has a bizarre, dreamy (and sometimes nightmarish) quality throughout. The scene where Toni Lawrence hears loud pig squeals and then runs screaming through a field for what seems like an eternity is probably the best example of the weird, out-of-nowhere sequences that continuously crop up. Unprofessional filmaking at its best!
This film is pretty bad; many scenes just don't make sense and some of them seem to come out of nowhere. On the plus side, a lot of the dopey characters are fun to watch (especially Zambrini), and the movie has a bizarre, dreamy (and sometimes nightmarish) quality throughout. The scene where Toni Lawrence hears loud pig squeals and then runs screaming through a field for what seems like an eternity is probably the best example of the weird, out-of-nowhere sequences that continuously crop up. Unprofessional filmaking at its best!
This movie is often marketed under the title "Pigs!", but that's actually pretty misleading. Granted, there are in fact some pigs involved in this project, but if you want to see crazed hogs rampaging and eating people and whatnot, look somewhere else. I have no idea where, but definitely somewhere else. Instead, this movie focuses on a strangely attractive young woman who seduces men and then kills them. And then she feeds the victims to a bunch of local pigs, mainly to justify the alternative title. It's a pretty thin plot, but the surprisingly decent acting and the sheer brutality of it all manage to keep the show on the road. Also comes with a really weird lullaby soundtrack that's difficult to get out of your head.
A doolally feature so disjointed that it makes you feel like you've been drinking Everclear all night, PIGS is one of the more underrecognized films in the 70s horror canon. An attractive girl fresh from the funny farm-(she killed her Father for you-know-what)-takes a waiting job in a Mayberry-hick diner operated by an old wacko who keeps a pen of flesh-hungry swine(a perfect disposal for those dead bodies that keep turning up).
Enjoyable soup-kitchen quickie with a groovy bubblegum pop intro, PIGS is plenteous with off-base appeal, and is a moderately more proficient contribution than the standard hireling-level picture of its day.
5.5/10
Enjoyable soup-kitchen quickie with a groovy bubblegum pop intro, PIGS is plenteous with off-base appeal, and is a moderately more proficient contribution than the standard hireling-level picture of its day.
5.5/10
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to the film's producer, director, writer and star Marc Lawrence, at its theatrical premiere in Detroit, Michigan on May 23, 1973 the distributor offered free bacon to the audience as part of a promotion for it, most of which was quietly and cautiously returned after the viewing of it was finished.
- GoofsThere is a camera shadow behind Lynn Webster when she kills Jess Winter in Zambrini's diner.
- Quotes
Zambrini: [absent-mindedly talking to a corpse that he has stolen from the morgue and that he is using to feed his sounder of 12 pigs] Yeah, you know, always on a full moon the pigs get hungry. Yeah. I gotta do it. They got used to eating human flesh. I gotta do it. I'm sorry. You know, the first time it happened was an accident. They got loose in the field. There was a drunk. He was asleep. Yeah, he was asleep.
- Alternate versionsIn addition to this film's producer, director, writer and star Marc Lawrence's original director's cut of it, which was titled "The 13th Pig" and which was officially released on DVD and Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome on March 29, 2016, two other alternate versions of it also exist. The first alternate version of the film featured a three-minute all-new introduction that shows its co-star Toni Lawrence's character of Lynn Webster (portrayed by an uncredited and different (but similar-looking) actress) being possessed by a demon and then being the subject of an exorcism, ending with her running out of the room in terror. This version was released under various titles, including "Lynn Hart, The Strange Love Exorcist", "The Strange Exorcism of Lynn Hart", The Secret of Lynn Hart", "Love Exorcist", "Roadside Torture Chamber" and "Blood Pen", among others. The second alternate version of it featured another longer all-new introduction that shows Lynn's childhood experiences with her incestuous father, ending with her stabbing him to death with a knife over and over again in a fit of rage after he had raped her in her bedroom and then being committed to an insane asylum because she irrationally believes that her father is still alive. She soon escapes when a nurse undresses to have sex with a doctor, leaving behind her uniform and her car keys. There is also a new ending in this version which shows Lynn supposedly faking her own death by seemingly going into the pigpen willingly and allowing the sounder of 12 pigs in it to apparently overpower her and eat her alive (leaving behind only her Egyptian ankh necklace (which she had been wearing around her neck throughout the entire film) hanging on one of the wooden posts of the pigpen where it is found later), then being picked up on the side of the road by a middle-aged man in his car who asks her how a girl like her can trust a complete stranger like him, after which Lynn tells him that she is not afraid because he reminds her of her "Daddy". The car is then seen driving on the road from a bird's eye view while the song "Somewhere Down the Road" is playing, followed by the closing credits (such as they are) running. Lynn is portrayed in these additional scenes by several uncredited actresses who are wearing wigs and are filmed from obscure angles. This version was originally titled "Daddy's Girl" and was also the one that was released to home video for several years by various minor (at best) and bargain basement (at worst) video companies and again under various titles, including "Pigs", "Daddy's Deadly Darling", "The Killers" and "Horror Farm", among others.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Movie Macabre: Pigs (1984)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Pigs
- Filming locations
- Lake Piru, California, USA(main location)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $100,000 (estimated)
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