By Forris Day Jr.
Fans of revenge films such as “Death Wish”, “Kill Bill” and “The Outlaw Josey Wales” will certainly enjoy “Piggy”. Although “Piggy” is a bit darker than the ones I mentioned, you still feel like cheering as the bad guys get hunted down one by one, but it also leaves you wondering who the bad guys really are.
“Piggy” is the story of a young man named Joe (Martin Compston). Joe is a pushover and tends to get bullied around quite a bit. He never stands up for himself. His best friend is his older brother John (Neil Maskell) who is also his protector. John is the opposite of Joe. He doesn’t put up with anybody’s garbage and he is not afraid to fight. A very nice guy, but don’t mess with him. One night at a bar a couple guys start giving Joe a hard time and John steps in to defend him. Everyone backs down but on the way home from the tavern John is beaten and left to die by the gang of troublemakers.
Joe goes into a deep depression as he grieves the loss of his older brother. One night a guy named Piggy (Paul Anderson) knocks on Joe’s door and tells him that if he wants anything done to avenge John’s death that Joe is going to have to do it. Piggy and Joe begin hunting down each member of the gang one by one brutally killing each member but not before reminding them of what they had done. Will they be able to avenge John’s death before the police discover them?
I really enjoyed “Piggy”. It is as much a psychological thriller as it is a horror film. Wonderful characters and gritty locations in London’s back alleys and streets. The story was engaging and I found myself rooting for Joe and Piggy even though I know what they are doing was wrong. Pretty weired having those mixed feelings about the characters, but I did. The first act of the movie was more like a drama then the second act immediately gets darker and more horror like as Joe and Piggy begin their quest for revenge. The film is shot in a very dark way, as far as lighting goes, but is shot in a bright light every time Joe is with Claire (Louise Dylan) a beautiful woman who is friends with Joe and John. She tries to help Joe but does not know of his pursuit for revenge.
The DVD automatically displays English subtitles which I thought was odd because the characters speak English. The captions, as it turns out, were helpful for me because the actors speak with a heavy accent (Cockney, I believe, but forgive me if I am wrong). The captions also helped me follow because I am unfamiliar with much of the slang used and seeing it spelled out helped me understand what they meant. The captions can be turned off too.
I really like “Piggy” for it’s settings alone. I’ve always thought London is a pretty intriguing place and although this movie takes place in seemingly bad sections of the city I still enjoyed experiencing parts of London through the film. It is a violent movie, so be warned, but it is a good story with well crafted characters. It may not be one of the most original films but it is indeed worth a watch.
