Have you ever gone through an experience after which you just felt “dirty.” Not physically, but mentally. You feel like you need a psychological shower?
That’s how I felt after viewing “Pig Killer.” Maybe that was the intent of the film-makers. I hope so. Otherwise, they’ve unintentionally succeeded is creating a masterpiece of psych porn.
“Pig Killer” is not about some deranged vegan intent on ridding the world of pork chops. No, it is the fact-based story of Canadian pig farmer Robert William “Willy” Pickton (Jake Busey – “The Frighteners”). Pickton and his brother operated a pig farm outside Vacouver, BC, and over a period of about 20 years he lured women from East Downtown Vancouver to his farm where he raped, murdered, dismembered and finally fed them to his herd of swine.
All this is presented to us in graphic, disgusting detail. Is there graphic sex? No, but there are gratuitous one second shots of engorged penises which serve absolutely no purpose. The women, mostly prostitutes “Willy” picked up in the city, are graphically butchered in nauseous and unnecessary detail.
The farm and the RV in which Willy lives are filthy and slipshod, and his associates are ignorant yahoos with limited vocabularies and moral codes to match.
Written and directed by Chad Farrin (“Night Caller”), the film does have its moments, although even they make you feel like you’re rolling in excrement. One is a fascinating scene featuring one of Willy’s victims, Brenda (Bai Ling – “Sky Captain”). She has been lured back to his piggy RV, where he proceeds to rape and then strangle her, while she carries on a well-acted druggy monologue. At one point, they are interrupted by Willy’s pet pig, Balthazar, who is later treated to Brenda’s liver.
A second is Busey’s acting in general. He is ignorant and slovenly, alternately belligerent and affectionate, and presents well-acted “seizures” in which his murderous nature comes to dominate. Some of these are triggered by memories of his incestuous relationship, encouraged by and with his mother.
And a third is when another prostitute opens a closet in the aforementioned filthy RV to discover Willy naked, masturbating and wearing the severed head of one of his hogs. Oh, and oinking as he does.
As if all the above weren’t bad enough, the film features an execrable musical score consisting of overbearing country songs that come out of nowhere and end just as unfathomably.
I recommend you skip this Piggy PowWow, but if you must indulge your baser instincts, be sure to stick around for an extensive scene that comes after the closing credits.
Availability: In theaters Nov. 3, 2023
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