Black Sheep (2006/I)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Jonathan King

Writer:

Jonathan King (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2007 (New Zealand)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Get ready for the Violence of the Lambs!

Plot:

An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm. |

Plot Keywords:

Sheep | Farm | Genetic Engineering | New Zealand | Mutation

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Matthew Chamberlain	...	Oliver Oldfield (as Matt Chamberlain)
Nick Fenton	...	Young Henry
Sam Clarke	...	Young Tucker
Eli Kent	...	Young Angus
Nathan Meister	...	Henry Oldfield
Nick Blake	...	Taxi Driver
Oliver Driver	...	Grant
Danielle Mason	...	Experience
Peter Feeney	...	Angus Oldfield
Glenis Levestam	...	Mrs. Mac
Richard Chapman	...	Muldoon
Louis Sutherland	...	Winston
Tammy Davis	...	Tucker
Tandi Wright	...	Doctor Rush
Ian Harcourt	...	Brash

Runtime:

USA:87 min | Argentina:87 min | Canada:87 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 | Australia:MA | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Ireland:15A | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Germany:18 | Germany:16 (cut) | USA:Unrated | Argentina:16 | Denmark:15 | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | USA:TV-MA (Cinemax) | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Italy:VM18 (cinema rating)

Filming Locations:

Wairarapa, New Zealand

Company:

New Zealand Film Commission

Trivia:

Just before Mike (Mick Rose) is attacked by a killer sheep, he is seen reading "The Penguin History of New Zealand", a well known book written by the late Dr Michael King, the father of _Black Sheep_ director Jonathan King.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the line 'Now get the fuck off my land' is delivered, it is unsynced.

Quotes:

Tucker: If it wasn't for my gumboot!

Movie Connections:

References An American Werewolf in London (1981)

A Nutshell Review: Black Sheep

I haven't the opportunity to follow many New Zealand movies, besides the recent memory of Sione's Wedding and In My Father's Den, both of which were of different genres, and mighty enjoyable. Written and directed by Jonathan King (who is also writing the Raintree produced movie The Tattooist), Black Sheep takes the well-established genre of zombie movies, and with its fusion of local flavour, presents its own worthy take in giving us the attack of the killer sheep.

Meh!

It's a crazy idea, but heck, I admit it was sheer wicked and twisted fun watching the usually docile (and may I say dumb?) animals turn the tables on us humans, and start going on a berserk rampage to munch on our flesh. Watching them hunt in packs was surreal, and happens to be one of the nightmares of Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister), who develops a phobia of our woolly friends after his brother Angus (Peter Feeney) played a cruel joke on him. The film fast forwards to the adult brothers, where the latter is planning to unveil his new "perfect" Oldfield sheep, and selling off the farm - why need the space when you can genetically engineer them?

Before you say, oh this is yet another movie which warns about the dangers and questions the ethics behind tinkering with genetics, you would probably think again when it made the environmental activists folks look like social outcasts, and totally bumbling, indirectly contributing to the zombie sheep phenomenon. I liked how the problem became two- pronged, in that the sheep became infected of course, and how its bite is now its worst weapon. And I'd bet you'll never look at another sheep, especially the baby ones, in the same light again, ha!

The plot's fairly straightforward to follow, with its villains (the scientists and of course, the raging sheep) and its heroes clearly spelt out - Henry, his farm hand Tucker (Tammy Davis), housekeeper Mrs Mac (Glenis Levestam), and an activist with an interest in Asian fengshui and zen sayings, called, check this out - Experience (Danielle Mason), who together actually form quite a lovable team whom you'll root for to get out of this mess.

With the animatronics and special effects done by Weta Workshop, you can expect some top notch gore, though I thought that despite it being a zombie flick, it lacked copious amounts of blood splatter. Chewing raw flesh may be stomach curling, especially when the details of such dastardly deeds are not spared, and the camera lingers. Transformational scenes were also fun yet eerie to watch, and if you think you've seen the best of these scenes from various werewolf movies, wait till you get a load from this one!

Black Sheep makes no apology to its violence, sexual innuendoes or toilet humour. In fact, it celebrates them, to tragic-comedic effect. However it knew how to rein itself in, and the farting-sheep-shagging jokes never goes into overdrive. The acts of violence too had a fair share left to the imagination, though I thought there probably was some scrimping in expected chase and attack sequences. If you're in for some light entertainment, then Black Sheep is probaaably your wicked choice for the week.