Pig Pen

PIG PEN

directed by: Jason Koch

starring: Lucas Koch, Vito Trigo, Nicolette le Faye

release: 2015

format: personal collection

I just finished watching this film for the first time.  It arrived in the mail today just as I was leaving for work.  I had crowdfunded for the blu and was thrilled to see it finally here.

I thought about this film all day long.  What would it be like?  Would there be gore?  Dead bodies?  Melting hallucinations conducting interviews?  I had few expectations going in and I really just wanted to put the blu on and enjoy.  I thought about cracking open a beer and watching this a lot through the course of my 12hr workday.

I can tell I'll still be thinking about this film for quite some time.  Its just ended about 10 minutes ago.  I feel depressed. I want to drown myself in the bathtub or maybe just go ahead and eat a bullet.

I haven't felt this kind of hopelessness and despair from a film since I watched Morris County.  That's the kind of horror Pig Pen is. True visceral terror via simple reflection of the world we live in.  This is dark horror drama at its finest.  Reality is the scariest shit of all.

This is a horrible film, and I don't mean it's poorly made. Everything about it is great in terms of the technical aspects - it's very successful.  That's the problem.  It's so effective and good at what it does - but what does it do?  It makes you feel like shit.  I need a hug.

If you sit down and invest yourself in the story and care about the characters and what happens,  it's rewarding.  However,  be warned that returns on your investment are pain,  sorrow,  and emptiness. This is a powerful film that only exists to make you realize how pointless life really is. 

Zach is a 13yo skater punk.  He has to put up with a lot of shit,  mostly from his junkie mom's abusive boyfriend,  Wayne.  These characters are played by Lucas Koch and Vito Trigo. Both of these guys kill it in their roles.  Wayne is very easy to hate,  you just want to see him die.  He's a total shitbag flaming on the porch of life.  Stomp him out and clean up the mess,  be done with it.   Zach gets by surviving the only way he can, between his fucked up family and the cesspool city surrounding him,  you really start to feel for this kid.  His mom, played by Nicolette le Faye, truly loves her son, but can't escape the fate she's locked herself into.

There are some excellent gore fx to behold during this film,  courtesy of Aftermath FX and the always talented Kaleigh Brown.  You really aren't expecting the scene to escalate into such brutality so quickly,  it was stunning.  You know something's about to go down, but the reveal is intense. Bravo.

This is bleak and dark stuff and you should check it out.

5/5