SFIFF Horror: Black Sheep April 27, 2007

Forget mad cow disease—it’s Mary’s little lambs you need to worry about! With a little creature and makeup assistance from Peter Jackson’s formidable Weta workshop, debut director Jonathan King has crafted a witty and delightfully gory tale delineating the havoc that ensues when genetically engineered sheep are introduced onto a family farm. The Oldfields have been farming in New Zealand for generations. However, the current youngest sibling, Henry, suffers from ovinophobia and wants nothing more than to sell his part of the farm to his machinating older brother, Angus, who has been perfecting a process to breed a new kind of supersheep. Though these novel creatures of snow-white fleece offer more meat to the pound, they also have a predilection for the taste of human flesh, and their unfortunate victims soon develop the same gustatory desires. When a pair of environmental activists accidentally sets one of the mutant muttons loose, Henry must face his greatest fears in order to save his land and the naturally bleating beasts that occupy it. Understanding the inherent campiness of his plot, King never relents for a moment, letting the wool and appendages fly, with nods to other horror classics along the way. After one of the activists is bitten, his transformation recalls those from The Howling and An American Werewolf in London. A couple of nifty Hitchcock parodies are played with particular humor and finesse. Combining comedy with chills is not always easy, but with Black Sheep Jonathan King proves he’s definitely got the chops.

—Rod Armstrong

Official Website: http://fest07.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=14