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Black Sheep (2007)

Get the flock out of here!

Rating: 5/10

Running Time: 87 minutes

US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15

On DVD

It’s taken me a while to see cult New Zealand horror comedy Black Sheep and to be honest I feel a little let down. It’s always easy to defend a cult movie by saying ‘It’s hillarious! You just don’t get it’ but Jonathan King’s average movie has only become so popular because of its slightly odd subject matter.

After moving to the city to study, Henry Oldfield returns to the farm of his childhood to sell his half of the property to his brother Angus (Feeney). Something strange is afoot as Angus is ready to unveil a secretive new project and the sheep are acting mighty strangely (and aggressively). Escalating events bring back some of Henry’s nasty memories and he has to face a phobia of sheep with help from Experience (Mason), an animal activist.

The idea of killer sheep was most probably thought up during a late night drinking session and is very original and brilliantly ridiculous especially in a country where they out number people. There are some masterful scenes like an epically gruesome nod to the naff special effects of old school horror movies with a mass slaughter of farmers. some subtle sight gags and silly moments. The Black Sheep mainly deals in chuckles and never really makes you belly laugh. Most of the laughs come from seeing sheep in unlikely situations rather than any of the fairly stilted, flat dialogue paired with uneven acting. Also, there aren’t enough sheep puns in this for my liking (which I’ve put right in my summary).

It’s certainly not a bad film but I won’t be in a hurry to watch it again.

It's Got: An original and fantastically ridiculous idea, funny visual humour

It Needs: More snappy and better delivered dialogue, a more memorable ending

DVD Extras A jokey Director's commentary with Nathan Meister, thirty minute making of featurette, five deleted scenes and a trailer - just enough DVD Extras Rating: 6/10

Summary

Ewe’re baaaadly mistaken if you think this sheepish effort is anything more than an average horror comedy that needs more sheep puns. There are some funny visual gags but not enough amusing dialogue to back it up.