Black Sheep (2007)

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A Disappointing Continuation

The acting in this movie is really good.

New Zealand was the country that made Peter Jackson's BRAINDEAD back in 1992. That film still stands strong as the goriest movie ever made, a near-perfect mix of gross-out humour, Kiwi insanity and copious bloodshed. When I saw that BLACK SHEEP, a similarly-themed film about genetically engineered sheep with an appetite for human flesh, was another Kiwi horror comedy, I was hoping it might reach near the standard of Jackson's work. Instead I found a film that simply ripped off that earlier, better movie – along with lots of other stuff like SHAUN OF THE DEAD. This is derivative film-making at its worst, totally lacking in any kind of inspiration and always striving to aim for the lowest common denominator.As the film begins with an unexplained incident – a kid kills and skins a sheep, wearing its bloody fleece to scare his little brother – you know that not much intelligence has gone into the script. Despite some typically pleasant New Zealand backdrops, the small scale antics that play out are utterly familiar and therefore pretty dull. Nobody in the unknown cast makes any kind of impression, and I was just waiting for a touch of originality or inspiration to come along and make me entertained. It never happened.The sheep bite people, transmitting a kind of virus that turns humans into rubbery sheep monsters. There's a last-reel attack by a flock of sheep full of cheesy gore effects with severed limbs and guts-aplenty, once again heavily indebted to BRAINDEAD. There's even a mutant lamb not too dissimilar from the Sumerian rat monster in the Jackson movie. The final solution to tackle the menace is about as lowbrow and unfunny as you can get, and never once did the film manage to raise itself from the doldrums. A below-par script, uninteresting performances (Danielle Mason is pretty but bland), laboured effects – from Weta workshop, the team who worked on LORD OF THE RINGS no less – and an overruling predictability make this one to miss.

When I see this title, it reminds me of "Mask" and "The Mask". I used to get really confused on which movie was Cher and which one was Jim Carrey. It isn't too smart to do this. I think of "Black Sheep" from 1996 with Chris Farley, as that is the movie I was searching. This one is taken one step further and doesn't even add a "The" at the beginning of it. It simply takes the name. I wanna rate it 1/10 just because this is already the title of another great movie and to me, you shouldn't use the same name for 2 different movies. However, I will give it at least 5/10 since: I haven't seen this one. I can't for sure say anything either way about the actual quality, or the story line, or the acting, or anything else, for that matter. My number one issue, is basically that, if you are using the same name as another movie, and it isn't a re make or a sequel, or prequel, etc, then it can ruin the viewers overall perspective of it. I know it does for me.

An experiment in genetic engineering goes horribly awry and causes a slew of sheep to transform into vicious flesh-eating beasts that terrorize the New Zealand countryside. Writer/director Jonathan King relates the blithely absurd story at a zippy pace, ably maintains an engaging mock-serious tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, draws the endearingly idiosyncratic characters in colorful broad strokes, delivers oodles of outrageous graphic gore (throats are ripped open, limbs are torn off, guts are devoured, and so on), and adroitly milks the wacky dark humor for maximum belly laughs. It's the way this movie goes whole hog on the gloriously loony premise that makes this movie so funny and enjoyable: One sheep drives a pick-up truck that goes off a cliff, folks who are bitten by the sheep turn into grotesque were-sheep subhuman hybrids, sheep jump on and tackle their victims like psychotic football players, and one poor dude even has his penis bitten off by a sheep (ouch!). Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast, with especially stand-out work by Nathan Meister as phobic and troubled hero Henry, Peter Feeney as smarmy yuppie Angus, Danielle Mason as feisty New Age hippie kook Experience, Tammy Davis as the jolly Tucker, Oliver Driver as obnoxious environmentalist Grant, Tandi Wright as cold-blooded scientist Doctor Rush, and Glenis Levestam as the sweet Mrs. Mac. Richard Black's crisp widescreen cinematography, the first-rate mostly practical special effects (the enormous humanoid sheep are amazing), and Victoria Kelly's spirited score all further enhance the overall sound quality of this absolute hoot.

"Black Sheep" doesn't lose its appeal upon several watchings. I have seen it four times so far, and I am still thoroughly entertained by it. Why? Well, because it is sheer and straight forward fun and over-the-edge dark comedy.The story is about some shady experiments being performed on sheep somewhere in the rural New Zealand farmlands. And as luck would have it, protesting activists steal a hazardous sample from the lab and accidents follow in its wake. A strange infection starts to afflict man and sheep alike."Black Sheep" has a lot of dark comedy to its storyline and the visuals are actually quite good. And for a movie of this caliber, then the special effects are really nice and work out so nicely. There is just something very odd and uniquely distinctive to the movie, and that is what makes it work out so nicely.Sort of think "Shaun of the Dead" meets a New Zealand sheep farm, then basically you have the outlay for "Black Sheep". The movie is fast-paced, with lots of fun scenes and dialogue. Plus the characters in the movie are nicely fleshed out as well.This horror-comedy is a definite must watch for fans of the genre.You will never look at a sheep in the same way again after having seen this movie...