Saturday, February 16, 2013

Porkchop II: Rise of the Rind

aka Porkchops
 

Director - Eamon Hardiman (Porkchop and Porkchop 3D)
Starring - Sam Qualiana (Return to Nuke em High), Angela Pritchett (Zombie Fried Chicken), and Rob Cobb (Zombie Babies)
Release Date - 2011
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Let the slaughter begin" and "Get off his land...or else"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):
 
     The rise of 80's inspired slashers is rather exciting but should be met with skepticism.  Just because a movie was inspired, or paying homage to, those classic 80's films does not mean that it is actually worth a watch.  I saw the first Porkchop film on amazon.com for months before I actually forked out the cash for it.  I really enjoyed the filmed and started looking around online about the director and his other films.  I discovered he was a West Virginia native and released some other films before, as well as, two sequels to the film.  I had to have both sequels and searched around to see where I could order them.  I discovered that a horror and sci-fi convention was being held a few days away near my home and he was one of the guests.  I held off ordering his flicks and went to the convention where I met him and grabbed all his films.  Hardiman and the rest of the cast was nice enough to sign my copy of Porkchop II and Porkchop 3D for me.      
     Simon (Qualiana) has recently moved with his mother and father to a new home.  Simon and his father have an argument on the way to their new home and his father kicks him out of the car.  As he is walking he crosses paths with a young girl wearing a pig mask.  She punches him and screams "you just got porkchopped, bitch."  She quickly realizes that he is new and is unaware of the Porkchop legend.  Meg (Pritchett) tells Simon about Porkchop and the murders that took place.  The pair then head off to Simon's new home.  The two find a small shack while exploring the property and quickly cross paths with Burt Flemming.  Burt and his friend patrols the property in hopes of finding Porkchop so they can kill him once and for all.  Burt warns Simon to stay out of the shack and heads off on his hunt.  The following day Simon and Meg hatch out a plan to throw a party at Simon's new home while his parents are away.  Meg hopes to invite all the popular students over to help Simon make friends, however, things do not go according to plan...or do they?  
     It is so hard to judge a sequel.  While watching the sequel you naturally compare it to the first film.  However, sequels rarely live up to the original film and are instantly panned by the viewer.  In most cases this is extremely unfair to the film.  Sure, it may not be as good as the first film but they may not be bad either.  I liked this film, flaws included, but it was not on the same level as the first.  The story does continue where the original Porkchop storyline but with more to it.  The character of Meg actually has a twist at the ending that I did not see coming.  This was a great nod to those classic 80's slasher.  I do not want to reveal the twist so you will just have to buy the DVD and find out for yourself.  The acting is not the best I have seen in a micro-budget flick but it was not bad either.  The cast consists of mostly amateur actors and actresses and it shows.  Do not get me wrong, they all have talent it just needs more practice.  The girls are also very nice to look at...and most go around topless.  The special effects are on the same level as the first film.  They are not that great but they do not take away from the kills.  The kills are this film's greatest feature.  Most are so outlandish and over the top that you will catch yourself rewinding to see them again.  The film has a lot of things to praise, however, it does have some flaws.  The first I want to mention is the random musical number that Simon and Meg have near the beginning of the film.  It serves no purpose to the story and removes the horror vibe from the film.  Finally, my biggest complaint was the ending of the film.  The film ends with Porkchop walking off in to the sunset.  The ending does leave it open for another sequel but it does not offer any closure.  Overall, this is a worthy sequel that should be watched. 
                  








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