Black Sheep

Director: Jonathan King
87 Minutes, Cert 15
Starring: Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, Tammy Davis

This low budget Kiwi horror/comedy (released nationwide last week) has made it into cinemas after garnering a strong cult following doing the rounds on the festival circuit and is the debut feature from writer/director Jonathan King.


The premise is classic horror comedy - protagonist Henry, on the advice of his therapist, returns to his childhood home (a farm) in order to try and confront his irrational fear of sheep. Things, however, are not as they seem on the farm; it gradually becomes apparent that the sheep have been subjected to some shady genetic experiments, which have unsurprisingly made them go a bit mental - the ensuing man vs. beast battle then forms the meat of the film, as the infernal flock pursue Henry and his friends across the vast countryside. The plot won't win any awards, but it ticks all the neccessary boxes.


Black Sheep owes much to New Zealands No.1 film export, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, the film's vibe instantly reminiscent of his 1987 debut, Bad Taste. But while the film valiantly attempts to emulate the tongue-in-cheek blood-and-guts excess that made films like Bad Taste cult classics in the 80's, it only sporadically hits its intended targets.


The dialogue is leaden and unfunny, with only Henry's no-nonsense farmboy pal Tucker providing any decent laughs, a few of the set pieces do amuse, but they're few and far between. The direction is similarly misguided, with far too many tourist board-y shots of the rolling New Zeland countryside and a disheartening over-reliance on Shakycam in the action scenes. The visual effects (by WETA Worshop, who did the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, no less) do succeed, with some very convincing gore (making for some highly OTT and amusing killings) and a refreshing lack of CGI . The audio is also a plus point, with a satisfying score and some enjoyably kitsch sound effects. In fact, the production values are surprisingly high across the board, which does make the film infinitely more watchable.


Although Black Sheep does try its best, its just a bit of a mess. There aren't enough jokes and next to no scares or shocks, and although ideas have been shoehorned into the film with abandon, you get the impression not many of them have been given much thought. The film is far from a failure and certainly worth a punt for fans of the horror/comedy subgenre, but ultimately lacks that little bit of elan that could have made it a highly enjoyable popcorn horror.


2.5 / 5