Film Reviews

Black Sheep

• Rating:
• Director: Jonathan King
• Starring: Danielle Mason
• Details: New Zealand / 87mins (15A).

Keep an eye out for Jonathan King, folks, because if you remember one Peter Jackson, the last Kiwi comedy-horror filmmaker who went on to direct a little trilogy called The Lord Of The Rings, it wouldn't take a betting man to gamble on the debutant being the next one to 'do a Jackson'. King's debut is silly and ridiculous, yes; but like Bad Taste and Braindead, it's a hell of a lot of gory fun. The story centres on two brothers - Henry (Meister) and Angus (Feeney) Oldfield - who grew up on a family farm somewhere in New Zealand. Henry, after a traumatic childhood, escaped farm life but has carried with him a crippling fear of sheep; Angus stayed on in an effort to genetically engineer a breed of super sheep. When a group of animal activists get their hands on a discarded foetus, it starts a chain reaction that unleashes a wave of really, really angry sheep. Blood, guts and entrails are the order of the day in this splatter-fest but, like Evil Dead et al, the jokes don't dilute some genuine scares. King knows his comedy is a one-noter and keeps the action under an hour-and-a-half, but is still unable to prevent Black Sheep dragging towards the end. Up until then, however, it's a delightful adventure into absurdity and is littered with fun nods and winks to horror films that fans will get a kick out of spotting. If only our own Isolation went for the same angle. Ah, well.

Review by Gavin Burke