Black Sheep

Oh, come ON people, stop ragging on it so bad! It's a horror comedy about KILLER SHEEP for crying out loud! How high-brow do you expect the humor to be?? How could you even think that it's trying to achieve the level of something like LOTR??! You say that they could substitute any animal in for the sheep & get the same cliché situations, but they didn't use just any animal, they used SHEEP, and there's something really hilarious about a 'menacing' medium shot of a sheep standing in a field looking at the camera. :) I just saw it at a midnight IFF screening & it was fun & cheesy, yet I dunno how campy you could call it, because the special fx were pretty amazing - kudos for weta for the animatronic puppets, morphing sequences & really good gross-out gore. Yes, it made the audience groan at some of the baa-a-a-ad jokes, but most of the time we were all laughing hysterically & clapping & cheering at the sheer ridiculousness of it all! I think the vast majority of the audience left the theatre with smiles on their faces & in a good mood! I highly recommend this film for anyone who wants a good laugh & enjoys sheep jokes. I mean, come on, it's not hard to appreciate the silliness of this. Go out & support this movie! I challenge you to sit through it & not laugh!

Coming from Australia I understand that sheep is a major part of life in New Zealand, and know that sheep out number people by a long shot.

With that background knowledge, I thought I caught most of the dry humor movie presented in this movie.

The cinematography is great with many dark in door shots contrasted with the grassy fields of New Zealand. This juxtaposition created great atmospheric contrast and made the darker scenes all the more grim. The movie is visceral not shying away from limbs being torn off, and necks being torn to shreds.The SFX are pretty good for most of the part, but some of the monsters are obviously a man in a suit, and that broke the illusion quite a bit.

The writing is interesting, there are some formula plotting and clichés in this movie,but considering it seems to satirize horror movies they are employed quite well. The characters are very quirky but can be empathized. The humor is very dark using the purity of sheep and turning them into demonic beings from hell itself. However the humor (I thought) was very dry and only people from the oceanic region may understand it.

A good movie that deserves a look if one is bored, and is in a mood for watching over the top gore caused in a very comical manner.

6.6/10

Black Sheep is the sort of film that will appeal to fans of Pete Jackson's and Sam Raimi's early horror comedies - especially Braindead and Bad Taste (Jackson) and the Evil Dead series (Raimi). Like these low budget 'schlockers' Jonathan King's film is well made and does not take itself seriously. Unlike these films, however, Black Sheep is not very self-consciously low budget. Since the film consistently parodies low-brow, low-budget horror films, the film-makers were able to very nicely exploit the gimmickry of these films without losing any artistry or credibility along the way.

Black Sheep is the story of two brothers from a New Zealand sheep farming family. Henry Oldfield (Meister) is terrified of sheep and has alienated himself from his family estate in order to seek therapy. Angus (Feeney) is a sociopath, sadist and rising provincial politician who loves sheep. Angus, of course, wants to make better sheep. And predictably, has genetic scientists set up in a barn on the estate who are performing grisly and disturbing experiments which somehow result in rabid, homicidal zombie sheep and were-sheep. A couple of macrobiotic eco-warriors are thrown into the mix (a brilliant touch) to round out the cast.

Of course, the plot is the weakest element in this film. But this is completely consistent with the film's mission as a genre and self-parody. The strongest elements are the excellent (though still hilarious) effects and art design by WEDA, directing and editing, the fine cast, fun characters and good script. King directs the film economically (a rarity in this genre) and the final cut wastes not a frame. The film is also very nicely shot - each scene - especially the sheep stampedes - is engaging and nicely paced. Every horror genre cliché is presented at one time or another, and most are exploited mercilessly.

Great film for fans of the genre. Not recommended for others.

Black sheep is a New Zealand film about a farmer who's been conducting genetic experiments on sheep in a weird breeding programme, when two activists accidentally release some of the radioactive material all hell breaks loose. With effects provided by Peter Jackson's Weta studios this is a daft horror much like his early work 'Braindead' and 'Bad Taste'. There is blood galore, mutant flesh eating sheep, human-ram hybrids and silly jokes and it definitely doesn't take itself too seriously. Packed full of clichés and homage's to other films, look out for the 'American Werewolf in London' take off, it is at times quite funny but ultimately the story is nothing new and only just manages to hold your interest between sheep attacks. If you want a no-brainer and a bit of a laugh and a groan then you will probably like this movie but stay away if you want highbrow because Shakespeare this isn't. They are coming to get ewe so get out the mint sauce.

After reading an extremely negative review of this, which COMPLETELY missed the point, I thought I'd write a far more 'accurate' review. In my opinion, this is one of the best of this type of horror movie i've seen. It's right up there with Peter Jackson's early work and Evil Dead. All the negative things the other reviewer was saying, the poor dialogue, and acting, the unrealistic effects, were deliberate, after all, the effects were done by highly skilled and trained effects people at WETA Workshops - who of course did Lord of The Rings. It is a horror comedy packed with clichés and subtle allusions, and full of New Zealand humour, which i concede probably doesn't translate well internationally. NZ is primarily a farming nation, we're a huge exporter of lamb, Farming is a huge part of our culture, and this blends that with our history of offbeat, slightly dark, and idiosyncratic cinema. It is a clever, quintessentially kiwi, homage to such previously mentioned horror comedies (or comedic horrors). That's what i like about it, it is a lot cleverer than it looks. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the film. If you like Peter Jackson's early stuff, you'll like this. Just don't expect it to be s***-your-pants scary.