Filmjitsu!

Episode 56 – Red Sonja

In this episode John learns to fight like a girl in his review of the 1985 swords and sorcery flick Red Sonja . Then the guys list their Bottom Five Lady Warriors before paying tribute to the late great Sidney Lumet before wrapping up with their Staff Picks.

I was introduced to Black Sheep by a friend, Josh Corman, who told me it was the worst Zombie movie he’s ever seen.  While I tend to avoid the usual Zombie debates (i.e. fast versus slow), I have to disagree with Josh on the categorization of this as a Zombie movie.  It’s really a Weresheep movie which sounds ridiculous I know.  Josh does have one thing right though, this movie is not good.

Let us begin with the plot. In this movie we begin with some back story on the Oldfield family, seen working on their sheep farm in New Zealand. After a ridiculous prank by the older Oldfield son, we learn their father has died. All of this is done to establish who these brothers are before jumping ahead to present day. This is where we see the younger Oldfield brother, Henry, coming back to the sheep farm after what we are told is a long absence to receive a buy out from older brother Angus, played by Xena and Power Rangers alum Peter Feeney. Angus has grand plans for the farm and is looking to obtain sole control. Next we are introduced to pretty but annoying hippy Experience. It is through Experience and her partner in crime, Grant, that we learn Angus’ plans involve genetic experiments on sheep to create a perfect breed of sheep. Grant manages to steal a specimen from the Oldfield lab and while running through the woods drops the container which shatters and lets loose the genetic freak inside. We are subsequently treated to the fine work of the WETA Effects team.

The WETA team had a lot to work with here by way of crazy storyline but not in terms of budget which is why the effects at times feel a bit Troma. Of course as any fan of low budget horror knows that is both insult and compliment. Essentially we have a situation in which one mutant sheep starts an epidemic. If an infected sheep bites another sheep, that sheep becomes a carrier of this infection which symptomizes as an appetite for human flesh. When a person is bitten by an infected sheep they are then turned into a giant sheeplike creature. While some victims appear to be dead before turning, hence the Zombie moniker, really this more resembles the typical Werewolf story arc. I do have to tip my hat to the effect team on this one, they alone elevate this movie from unwatchable to just dull.

The ultimate failure of this movie is the writing. It is billed as an “outrageous comic gore-fest” on the DVD cover but sadly like the groan worthy tag line of “Get the Flock Out of Here” the jokes all fall flat. We see lots of sheep farting, a sheep driving a truck off a cliff and even mint sauce with a Holy Water like effect on the Weresheep but none of it is delivered with the tongue-in-cheek irreverence that make our favorite low budget horror movies fun. In the end when looking to sit down with an “outrageous comic gore-fest” I would rather watch Shaun of the Dead for the 100th time before considering a second viewing of Black Sheep.

John

Filmjitsu Rating:

Episode 16 – The Toxic Avenger

In the Sweet 16 episode John reviews the Troma classic The Toxic Avenger . Of course what other category would do than Bottom Five Movie Mutants. There is another Matinee Deathmatch battle and the guys both go horror in their Staff Picks. Don’t forget to check out the Bonus Features section for more goodies.

This episode features music by a Filmjitsu favorite Kung Flude.