Chop

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.

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 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.

You know by now this isn't going to change your life or how you define film, so let me tell you what it can do for you. A perfectly decent latenight comedy horror viewing, made proportionately better by how much beer at hand.

The guy behind this grinded his teeth working at Troma, so he knows film as Lloyd Kaufman taught it; make your own damn movie, doesn't matter how cheap or choppy so long as the game is agile, self-aware and one step ahead of you dear viewer. This is done on the cheap but is all the rest. The setup here is that our likable guy is being quite literally chopped away until he can remember how he affected others. Turns out he was a pain in the ass junkie before he cleaned his act. Strangers are brought in to take a piece. Our half-mad psycho keeps taunting for an answer.

There is some gore and some tension involved that is probably being spoofed from Hostel - our guy looks a little like Roth anyway - but this is pitch black comedy first and foremost, like Trome used to do it minus too much explicitness. So throw some weirdness on screen that you know is going to attract a crowd, then be a good host and make everybody have a good time. This one does, up to the halfway point at least.

The downside: it's a great premise, our guy wakes up and fingers are missing. It hinges a lot of its power on us feeling genuinely sorry for the plight of our awkward protagonist. But that's the whole thing and it's not taken further. While enjoyable and riproaring for a while, it gets tedious in the latter stages.

The Pegg/Wright team could have done this with more acerbic wit, a young Sam Raimi with some cinematic verve. It would have been a classic in both cases.

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.