Cochonne

Rented this movie on Amazon Prime and I had no choice but to rent the dubbed version of this film because the only other option was to buy the Spanish version. Avoid the dubbed version at all costs. One of the worst English dubbing of a film I've ever seen/heard, so it was difficult to fairly judge this movie. The voiceover actors should never be allowed to ruin someone's film like this again. It was worse than a 1960's Godzilla movie. If I were to walk down the block and grabbed strangers off the street, they would've done a better job. I'll have to watch this film again when I can see it for free and possibly revise my review then.

This is a delightful, grim tale of a lone fat girl who is bullied by everyone around her except her dear, sweet dad - and the killer. Great cinematography and acting are well directed; it is all encapsulated by a beautiful countryside. Sara tries her hardest to just live her life but she's bullied when she goes out and berated at home. After a particularly harrowing version of the daily insults she endures the very girls who were tormenting her a moment ago are now snatched up by the serial killer who watched as they belittled and tortured her. Sara knows. Sara saw them in his van. And he stops the van and leaves her a towel to cover herself because the bully girls stole her clothes. Her dilemma is whether to tell what she knows and therefore save their wretched selves or keep mum and keep her admittedly evil savior.

Not everything works (the 2nd act is a bit too long, some characters' decisions are a bit questionable too), but this is really well done.

The first act is as uncomfortable as necessary and the most engaging part of the film IMO. Without it, you wouldn't get the motivations, the internal doubts, and the grey areas of our main character.

Even if it drags a bit in the middle, the third act is strong and the finale delivers. After being seen for the first time, everything changes, and now even her calls for help are heard.

Great performance by Claudia Salas and confident direction by Carlota Pereda.

Cerdita, aka Piggy, A Spanish movie from 2022.

Sara is an overweight teenage girl, who faces bullying from a group of teenage girls, the so called crowd. After a bullying incident, Sara sees her bullies in trouble, she has a choice to make.

It's another cracker from Spain, Piggy is a wonderfully timed horror thriller, it's bleak, it's thought provoking, it's very relevant.

The interest of course lays right at Sara's feet, after suffering for what would have been a teen's worst nightmare, she witnesses a horrifying event, putting yourself in Sara's place, is she glad her tormenter is in trouble, or guilty for not doing something.

Laura Galan is excellent from start to finish, a competent and capable performance. You see how cruel life can be for a teen that's different, in her case overweight, you see how cruel a group can be, it's very well observed.

The horror, bullying and gore are all measured, nothing is overdone, they could have easily made this into a gore fest, or gone too far, but they didn't.

That ending, I won't be forgetting that in a hurry.

8/10.

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free thoughts, please follow my blog to read my full review :)

"PIGGY is the right type of film to be one of the last movies in an event such as the Sundance Film Festival. Carlota Pereda takes advantage of the terrific lead performance from Laura Galán, and delivers a shocking, violent, frighteningly grounded story about bullying, fat-shaming, and self-acceptance.

Despite taking a more revenge-driven approach, the filmmaker beautifully develops the moral concepts at hand. The romantic subplot doesn't really work, though, and the film would have benefited from a stronger atmosphere. In addition to this, just a couple of impactful dialogues surrounding the main themes would have drastically improved the overall piece.

Still, it's definitely a must-watch."

Rating: B+