Review: PIG

Title: PIG
Year: 2011
Director: Henry Barrial
Writer: Henry Barrial
Starring: Rudolf Martin, Heather Ankeny, Keith Diamond

Picture this – you wake up in the middle of the desert, hands tied behind your back and a black bag over your head. You stumble through the desert, nearly dying, until a woman finds you. She takes you back to her place, nurses you back to life only to have you wake up and not remember anything. To further add confusion you have a piece of paper in your pocket that simply reads “Manny Elder.”

Pretty crazy scenario, right? Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? Yeah, well this is just part of what Rudolf Martin had to go through as the Man in Henry Barrial’s terrific sci-fi thriller, PIG.

PIG is one of those movies that’s really hard to talk about without giving it away. Throughout the entire movie you’re sort of like the Man, wandering through the desert not sure what the heck is going on. A plot with this much going on is a risky move for a filmmaker to make. He not only has to have confidence in himself, but he must also have confidence in his audience. Barrial is oozing with confidence.

Working with a story that could easily take us off the rails, Barrial is able to keep us on track with a fascinating mystery being unraveled right before our eyes. Loads of credit goes to Martin for his performance as the Man. He’s nothing short of brilliant. Martin has played in a ton of things over the years, probably known by most for his performance in the first season of ‘24’ but he has yet to really take off and become a huge name which I’ve always been confused by. After you watch PIG, you’ll be confused too.

Aside from just being a really, really, really good movie, PIG is a huge success for indie filmmaking. Produced by low-budget guru Mark Stolaroff, this is the type of film all indie filmmakers should watch and learn from. Why? Because not for one second does PIG feel like a low-budget flick. It can easily hold its own with any big budget movie opening this or any other weekend. Kudos to both Barrial and Stolaroff for working with little to deliver us with a lot.

Again I can’t dive too deep into PIG without spoiling things. PIG is a great puzzle that we get to watch be put together piece by piece. When the puzzle is finally complete, you’ll more than likely be shocked by the picture it makes and then you’ll smile a bit when you realize just how clever this film is.

**Special shout-out to Keith Diamond who I think must horror fans will remember from DR. GIGGLES.

Rating: 5/5

Own PIG today: http://www.kinolorber.com/video.php?id=1527