Spikeopath
Black Sheep, written and directed by Jonathan King is a wonderfully kooky horror comedy filmed out of New Zealand. Premise is simple, genetic tampering by unstable farmer man-child type has produced psychotic zombie sheep who like to chow down on human flesh. If you are "lucky" to still be alive after being bitten, you turn into a human/sheep hybrid - who likes to chow down on human flesh! All inhabitants of this island are doomed unless three spunky young heroes in waiting can overcome monumental odds and save the day!With effects done by Weta being no bad thing, Black Sheep is a whole bunch of popcorn munching fun. Many of the jokes aren't really surprising but they hit the mark because the comedy is drawn nice and broad. It helps as well that much of it carries a sense of mischievous depravity about it, while the snarky asides to scientists and tree hugging environmentalists shows King to have a semblance of world awareness about him. The cinematography (Richard Bluck) is gorgeous, capturing the magnificent landscapes as a backdrop to the ovine carnage, and Victoria Kelly's musical score is jovial supreme.Nothing earth shattering here, so those horror/comedy fans who venture in for the first time expecting otherwise will be disappointed. However, at under 90 minutes in length King's movie never once sags in pace or gasp for new comedic air. It's a short sharp shocker of a rib tickler and well worthy of a look if in the requisite mood. 7/10
Nathan Haskew
I have to say this is an extraordinarily difficult title to review. I of course went into it expecting one of those movies that's so bad that it's funny (you know the ones--we all watch them eventually.) But what I got was so much more.Don't get me wrong, you still have to use that basic mentality and not take anything seriously, but the weird thing is...I think that's what the movie makers were doing as well. I swear, if you're one of those people who makes a ridiculous prediction, you will see most of them come true. Here were some of mine and a rough summary of the movie.A couple of annoyingly pro-environmentalists (complete with aggravatingly hipster girl and douschie boyfriend) steal some sort of demon/mutant/fetus sheep in a glass jar (literally directly in front of the scientists working on them.) Now I bet that fetus sheep's going to attack them. 10 minutes later, dousch-man falls, breaks jar, and gets his ear bitten off by a puppet/mutant/fetus sheep.Now, since this is some sort of sickening genetic experiment, I bet the man is now infected. Turns out he was! I bet he'll turn into a sheep-man. Slowly through the movie, we see him turn into...a MINOTAUR...I mean, a sheep-man. To be honest, they look kind of the same (not that minotaurs appear in the movie--that would be absurd.) And by that, I mean, the sheep-man actually looks badass, and is able to send the main guy (who coincidentally has an intense phobia of sheep--he had a messed up childhood) flying across a room with a minor backhand.Anyway, the fetus mutant sheep ends up mixing with a normal flock of sheep and, you guessed it. They all get infected. The hoard of demon sheep can now begin to take over the world. But we'll get there.As it turns out, the head of this scientist team (who I'm still not entirely sure what they are trying to do) turns out to be the douschy older brother of the main guy. He plans to present what I think is supposed to be the perfect sheep to a convention of scientists from around the world. But on the way there, he gets infected by the first sheep-man and eventually shares his fate. Rather than freak out, he accepts it fully. Fully to the point of heavily-implied bestiality with the "perfect sheep" which may or may not have been concocted from his own sperm.Somehow, his little brother also gets infected, and if you're guessing climactic, sheep-brother battle in the ruins of a sheep demon world, you'd guess right. I can't give too much away, but just know if I could recite this entire movie back to you, I would. This is truly a movie you just HAVE to see.As far as putting it through the movie gauntlet rating, I'd say it ranks pretty high. Acting: ranges from creepily good to laughably bad. Effects: surprisingly good and occasionally laughably bad (you're working with sheep demons here, give them a break.) Storyline: fairly ingenious (I couldn't best it if I had to use sheep as my antagonists.) Cinemaphotography: excellent. The wide shots of New Zealand grasslands are incredible at setting the mood. Climax: ultimate pay-off. You'll laugh until you cry.So overall, I'd say yes, I am a fan of Black Sheep. Looking at it from the perspective of a movie-maker, I find it inventive and entertaining. If you're someone who needs to analyze the psychological aspects or take notes on the motivation and backstory, this movie isn't for you (and you may have a disorder of some sort.) But if you're someone who can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the absurd, you will love Black Sheep. I guarantee it.
insomniac_rod
Disgusting, entertaining, lots of gore, cool mutant sheeps, and a deep message for modern society. I enjoyed "Black Sheep" because I took it for what it is: a fun movie that shouldn't be taken seriously. It offers violence, black humor and plenty of references to Horror movies (loved specially the "Night of the Living Dead" and "The Shining" tributes).It may not appeal for everyone but it surely ranks high on entertainment factors.Watch it and enjoy. It's mindless but gory fun.P.S. I love the blonde girl. She's dumb looking for that's my kind of girl.
