Gorehounds Unite!

Black Sheep Overview:

A genetic engineering experiment gone horribly awry turns a large flock of docile sheep into unrelenting killing machines in this rural horror comedy directed by Jonathan King and featuring special effects designed by Weta Workshop. When the death of his father and a stress-induced fear of sheep pushes him toward the edge of a nervous breakdown, skilled farmer Henry Oldfield leaves the family farm behind in a desperate bid to achieve inner peace. Upon returning to the farm following a 15-year absence, Henry discovers that his brother Angus has been performing genetic experiments on the sheep. Unfortunately for both the brothers and the rest of the humble farmers who make their living off of the land, these experiments have produced a strain of sheep that crave human flesh and will stop at nothing to satisfy their diabolical hunger.

 I just want to start by saying I didnt hold high hopes for this film at all. I saw the trailer like everyone else and said what the hell was that.....Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw on that screen when I finally went and viewed it. This is a Gorehounds wet dream and this reviewer personally cant believe the amount of gore I saw splattered all over the screen that night (although I can see where they went further but had to cut some scenes short......Cant wait for the Uncut DVD!).

I have always been a fan of off the wall campy gore fests ala Peter Jackson. I figured those days came and went when the master of all gore filmmakers hit it big with the LOTR films and King Kong. I was dead wrong.......But it does make sense to me that another kiwi is responsible for the mayhem we see on the screen with Black Sheep. This film is obviously indebted to Peter Jackson in both tone and feel. We owe Jonathan King a heros welcome with this film as so many other filmmakers have tried to imitate the master and all have failed miserably.When an egocentric environmentalist raids the site of genetic animal experimentation, he steals with what appears to be a jar full of sheep fetus. The fetus isn't dead and when it escapes and bites the environmentalist it turns him into a killer sheep-man. (never thought Id use that word.....sheep-man.....lol). The film is very close in tone to the classic Dead Alive (aka Brain Dead) and as such some of the gags can feel slightly outdated. Think of this as a Sheep-Zombie film and youll know what your in for......This film will never make you forget Peter Jacksons splatter classics but it will make you fondly remember when you first saw those classic films. This film for me was one of the years best and I amy even go as far as saying it is in the top 10 horror films released in the last 5 years.          Go see it.....youll never look at sheep the same way again!

Rating:

5 out of 5 Severed Heads