Post by petrolino on May 13, 2023 17:33:45 GMT
I think Spanish horror cinema, with its great traditions, has been going through a difficult time of late. I wouldn't recommend 'Piggy' (2022) as a horror movie so much as an atmospheric portrait of small town bullying that's being driven by gossip, cowardice, small-mindedness and sheer malice. At the centre of this is Laura Galán's performance as Sara who suffers at the hands of her friends, family and community. I think her performance suggests great things to come.
"The real moments of horror in this caustic adolescent character study don’t play out when the blood is flowing. More uncomfortable than the glimpses of physical torture are the extended scenes of mental torment, in which Sara (Laura Galán, impressive) is persecuted, to her face and in the combat arena of social media, by three mean girls in her village in rural Spain. The film’s title refers to the girls’ nickname for Sara, but their taunting goes far beyond name-calling. So when she witnesses the abduction of her bullies by a bearded stranger who previously dropped her a crumb of kindness, her first instinct is to leave the girls to their grisly fates.
There’s an atmospheric, unsavoury oiliness to the cinematography and an uncomfortable tussle of sympathies – director Carlota Pereda shows real promise as a genre film-maker."
There’s an atmospheric, unsavoury oiliness to the cinematography and an uncomfortable tussle of sympathies – director Carlota Pereda shows real promise as a genre film-maker."
- Wendy Ide, The Guardian
'Piggy' is currently being screened by SKY Movies.