I am a huge fan of New Zealand. From the gorgeous terrain to the fusion of British and Maori culture, my holiday to the Land of the Long White Cloud is easily my favourite ever. One of the greatest things about New Zealand, however, is the laidback, amazingly friendly people; specifically, the ease with which they take the piss out of themselves.
Which naturally brings us to Black Sheep; a horror movie based off the NZ’s main tenants that is so ridiculously over the top, it challenges Shaun of the Dead for the mighty comedy-horror crown!
Henry Oldfield has returned to the family farm years after fleeing due to a combination of his father’s accidental death and his phobia of sheep – brought about, as it were, by his brother Angus skinning Henry’s pet sheep and wearing the skin (seriously). Henry is selling Angus his share of the farm to finally get some closure, but naturally all doesn’t go according to plan.
With a plot involving genetic manipulation, stinky-but-well-meaning hippies, were-sheep (!), and a good dose of traditional New Zealand bestiality (teehee), this isn’t exactly your typical horror fair as presented by/produced by/looked at once by Quentin Tarrantino.
And you know what? That’s terrific, at least from the perspective of someone that thinks the direction that horror is currently heading (with dross like Hostel, Grindhouse, See No Evil, or anything by Rob Zombie) is as stupid as it is appallingly un-entertaining. Black Sheep was obviously written and created to be both a homage to the old-school amusing splatter horror movies like Evil Dead or Bad Taste (speaking of movies involving Peter Jackson, the special effects for Black Sheep were handled by none other than WETA Workshop, who worked on Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy) and to also mercilessly lampoon the conventions of the genre.
The best part is that the movie is an unmitigated success in both regards, and does everything right to appeal to lovers of horror and comedy both. The acting is suitably horror in its campiness, the characters are broad stereotypes, the dialogue is surprisingly sharp, the gore flows thick and fast, and the monsters/sheep are classic works of makeup, prosthetics, and puppetry, rather than tricks of CGI wizardry.
The most amazing part is that a concept as stupid as a mob of genetically-mutated, bloodthirsty sheep running rampant over the rolling green hills of NZ works beautifully in the context of a horror movie; while the comedic nature of the situation is always readily apparent, the abundance of hills, the run-down locations, and the sense of isolation are actually enough to help create surprising amounts of tension.
Despite a silly concept and what was most likely a fairly low budget, Black Sheep works perfectly at blending the comedy and horror genres. While people that get off on the really sick, twisted violence-fests might find this all a bit tame, people who are dedicated to the traditions of the genre should be suitably entertained; in the same way, anyone that enjoyed Shaun of the Dead (or similar styles of humour) will find a lot to laugh at with the sharp dialogue, caricature-like characters, and amusingly over the top violence.
Black Sheep is one of those rare films that manages to become far more than the sum of its parts, blending concepts and genres seamlessly to create a film watchable by people with a broad range of tastes. If you see one horror/comedy involving sheep this year, don’t wait to see which of the multitude of livestock-based films gets nominated for an Oscar…
Just see Black Sheep instead – it’s more than worth it, and you’ll be helping out the Kiwi movie business as well; they need your money baaaaaaadly!
Damn, couldn’t help myself.
I rate Black Sheep 8/10 – A hilarious take on the horror/comedy genre that plays up to the stereotypes of both New Zealand and the horror movie genre. As the advertising slogan said, “There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand…and they’re pissed off!”)
- Tim Sweeney
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