Long Pigs

source: Long Pigs

Two documentary makers somehow discover a cannibalistic serial killer and decide to make a documentary rather than turn him in. They follow Anthony (Anthony Alviano) as he non-nonchalantly kills and eats people. Anthony breaks the mold for a psycho-path. The film was rather amusing in a dark kind of way. The ending clues you in that the whole film is a metaphor for how the media feeds off the misery of people, just like a cannibalistic serial killer. The film includes a talk radio, Howard Stern sounding guy, someone who feeds off of misery (Roger King). Guide: F-bomb. No sex. rear corpse nudity.

A truly great indie horror flick that flew way under the radar. Think Man Bites Dog + Behind the Mask + Street Thief, but with a charismatic cannibal as your murderous main character, and some gloriously morbid practical FX. Track this one down, it deserves a bigger fanbase. It's the rare indie genre film that transcends its low budget with a balance of character work, witty humor, gore, and being engaging start to finish. Without spoiling much, an amateur film crew follows around a serial killer and connoisseur of human delights, Anthony McAlistar, documenting his murderous day-to-day routine, and eventually find themselves lending a hand in the ritual. One thing that makes the film so enjoyable is the main character, played by Anthony Alviano. His performance as serial killer / human flesh connoisseur Anthony McAlistar elevates a micro-budget faux doc to an entertaining indie gem worthy of repeat viewings. He's calm, charismatic, menacing, and kinda likable (for a guy who kills and eats people). Another asset worth mentioning are the practical FX. In one scene, after dispatching a prostitute with a club, we watch McAlistar completely dismember the body like an animal in a slaughterhouse. It's brutal, unforgettable, and won't disappoint gorehounds. In a more "lighthearted" moment, the film crew documents McAlistar as he gleefully prepares a pot of human stew in his kitchen. As he slurps a spoonful for a taste-test, he waxes poetic about the decadence of eating human meat. It's a clever nod to Hannibal Lector, giving the archetypal cannibal a hilarious "foodie" touch. Brilliant stuff. Long Pigs is screaming to be rediscovered. Easily one of my favorite indie horror / found footage / faux doc flicks, I hope to see it garner a sizable cult following someday. Whether or not that'll happen, I'm happy to have a copy in my collection.

I'm so sick of found footage horror I could scream, but I saw Long Pigs last night and it was fantastic. I'd say it has to be in the top five best films of the genre. The practical effects were outstanding. Definitely watch the Special Features on how they made the bodies. The acting was a little weak at first, but they found their groove before the halfway mark and it really started to click. I have to say I saw the ending coming, but I was not disappointed by that. The score was probably the weakest thing about the movie. I would have preferred silence to the urban remix of "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies". I get the point they were trying to make with that choice, but to me that particular piece is way overused. It's on my blacklist with "O Fortuna" and the chorus from Beethoven's 9th. Just don't. The script was better than average. The acting got better and better as the movie carried on. Cinematography is always my complaint with these kinds of movies. I said the same thing about REC: This is supposed to be a PROFESSIONAL cameraman. He should be able to hold a camera still sometimes. I wish they hadn't fast-forwarded through the butchery scene. That could have been really horrifying if they had been able to pull it off realistically and we had gotten to see it. Overall, great flick. Not a rip-off of August Underground by a mile. I hate found-footage horror, but I loved this.

The movie got some attention worldwide due the limited release of the DVD with a package of jerky. I got mine by contacting the director. Of course I had seen the trailer and immediately two films came into my mind, August Underground and C'est Arrivé Près De Chéz Vous (better known overseas as Man Bites Dog). After watching it I would rather compare it more to Man Bites Dog. August is more about brutality with a small storyline. Here we have the same story as Man Bites Dog. A director and his crew agrees to follow a killer. But not a normal one, a cannibal. Sometimes it's, just like MBD, a bit funny. Like making some stew from human parts. I won't go as far as other reviewers by asking who's worser, the killer or the crew. The difference between MBD and Long Pigs is the fact that Long Pigs goes more into the mind of the killer. It's all filmed docu style. It never becomes really gory but still, some scene's are really well done and are not for the faint hearted. See how he rips the flesh from one victim in an accelerated scene. Somehow you can see the end coming, but when it comes it's again not for the squeamish. Nice low budget which doesn't need the gore to keep you attracted.

Odd Canadian film has two obviously first time documentary filmmakers following around a cannibalistic serial killer as he first stalks and kills his victims, then prepares them in stews and barbecues for consumption. The way this is all show in nonchalantly and in such an off-hand manner adds to the dramatic effect as he literally hangs his prizes upside down, decapitates them and hacks them apart piece by piece, extracting "the best parts" for consumption along the way. The practical effects are absolutely amazing I must say. There is one incredible scene where they show him preparing an entire body in a very fast forward sequence that must have been a gruelling long shot. The performances are all pretty credible here, and the movie is well shot. The winter Canadian scenery is nice to look at with one scene in particular showing New Years at the Toronto City Hall. Fun fare for fans of the genre.

I'm not usually a fan of "found-footage" films, but there's exceptions. This is one of those exceptions. I had found this movie randomly, and as i saw that it was marked as both "Horror" and "Documentary", i immediately picked it up. - Without researching the validity of the movie. Only about 30 minutes into the movie, when the hockey practice begins, i started feeling so uncomfortable that i had to investigate further. Luckily for me, this movie isn't really "authentic", but it is very convincing and realistic. The acting is done so undramatic, that it becomes VERY convincing, especially Anthony Alviano deserves credit for that, and the enthusiasm portrayed around the scenes on the farm, made me almost sympathetic about the cannibal-man that he portrays, and how much passion he has for the food he eats. I liked the ending too, but the Simon-part wasn't necessary at all for the movie to function. Overall, a very impressing movie. Best Intentions

Even though I'm not a big fan of mockumentaries, ( I prefer pure fiction or pure documentary, the mix is often neither fish nor fowl ), I had somewhat high hopes for this. But what can I say? I understand the reasoning behind the film; to give us a matter-of-factly view into the motives and actions of your next-door cannibal, contrast his unspeakable deeds and grotesque philosophical musings with his more mundane everyday-activities, and out of these contrasts horror shall grow. And often this recipe works very well, perhaps because this is so close to reality, many serial killers are often unassuming and tedious in their sheepish guise, the type nobody would suspect to be a killer. The film that comes closest to Long Pigs is of course Man Bites Dog, but in that film everything works and the end-product is a diamond.In Long Pigs on the other hand this approach doesn't work at all, and what you are left with is a boring man's life spiced up with a couple of scenes of slaughter for good measure. You know something is wrong when two thirds of the film is a yawn-fest of smalltalk, and one third is spent on the actual deeds. And even the sections of slaughter doesn't really convey any sense of menace and horror, fair enough the special effects are great ( hence the three stars ), but I could just as well have enjoyed an episode of Hell's Kitchen, at least there you get a certain sense of dread. Here, on the other hand, it is non- existing, and that, in a horror-film is a mortal sin. If you want a brilliant mockumentary, watch Man Bites Dog, if you want a proper cookery-class, watch Cannibal Holocaust or Cannibal. Avoid this snoozer.

Two young directors film the hunt and butchering of a prostitute by a local cannibal serial killer. This is interspersed with footage of a grieving parent, a psychologist and a detective. How will the story unfold? There are some minor complaints to be made. For example, the cannibal (Anthony Alviano) seems younger and nerdier than expected, which took away some of the realism. The same for the police officer (Shane Harbinson) -- seemed very young, but presented himself very professionally. A fine actor, he easily could have passed for a real cop. The radio DJ (Roger King) was the strongest and best-written role. His words were well-scripted and well-spoken, and the way his scenes book-cased the film really worked well. The film would have been good without him, but this pushed it from good to very good... perhaps almost great. I appreciate the argument made that "how can it be wrong if it tastes so good?" This is reasonable. God or nature has made edible things palatable -- we learn what to eat by whether or not our taste buds enjoy it. If man was created tasting good, something would seem to be supposed to eat it. Why not other men? (There are moral questions here, of course, but at the very least, why do we not eat the flesh of those who have died?) More than anything else, I have to call attention to the very good use of effects on the corpse... very, very good. The body contained skin, flesh, meat, guts, bones... I do not know how this was accomplished, but it may be the greatest corpse effect in movie-making history. I believe this honor belongs to Chris Bridges, who has been involved in the field for over a decade on a number of notable projects. I would endorse this film. It is an interesting faux documentary, and with the work of Chris Bridges, it may have you doing a double-take. Did they use a real body? It is almost too difficult to be sure.

Direct to video pseudo documentary. Aren't we done with this phony format? And this one makes zero sense. What film crew is going to follow around a dude while he kills and eats women? It's amateurish and dumb. The Plot A documentary by two desperate young filmmakers who stumble upon the ultimate subject, a 33 year old cannibalistic serial killer named Anthony McAllister, who has agreed to let them document every aspect of his horrifically violent life-style. Initially terrified, the filmmakers get to know Anthony as a person. They even begin to identify with his ecological and philosophical justifications for his cannibalistic lifestyle. It's only when they investigate further that the filmmakers begin to doubt Anthony's accounts of his past. Tensions noticeably rise as the filmmakers continue to confront Anthony on his conflicting stories and ever-changing philosophies. During an awkward interview, the filmmakers interview Merle, the father of a young girl who was abducted and never found. This abduction was Anthony's first child victim. Merle welcomes them into his home and gives them a heart-felt experience that even Anthony is touched by.

A quick glance at Anthony McAlistar and you would think that he is your average every day kind of guy. He doesn't talk funny. He doesn't have a limp or a feature that would make him stick out in a crowd. Nope. Anthony is your everybody kind of guy. Oh wait. There is one thing. Anthony is a cannibal serial killer. The film Long Pigs sets out to explore the everyday life of Anthony in a faux-documentary type style. A cameraman and a journalist will follow Anthony through various kills and dismemberments as the feature star of his own documentary. Anthony (Anthony Alviano) couldn't be more convincing or terrifying in his simple and realistic approach as the murderer-next-door. He is calm and purposeful. And when he begins to chow down on random strangers, the documentary style as presented by directors Chris Power and Nathan Hynes is a perfect complement to explore the ferocious homicidal maniac living inside the man. Currently on DVD and touring the festival circuits across North America, Long Pigs is an above average independent film with some of the most realistic make-up and effects that you will see in a film with the budget of a Michael Bay craft table. The effects are balanced with intelligent dialogue and attentive detail to the production. Anthony's speeches about his cannibalism not being sexual – "It's culinary" - and his description of having to tie off the human anus to prevent contamination were brilliantly orchestrated with accompanying horror style visuals that make Long Pigs more fascinating than revolting. If the notion that a serial killer is the 'quiet type that lives next door', then Long Pigs' Anthony embodies the idea to a tee. He plays hockey, he visits his ailing mother and even eats with strangers as if it were an everyday event (while a body lies in his car trunk no less). Watching Anthony carefully slaughter and store a human body like a seasoned butcher was as real as any effect you will see in a big budgeted film of the same genre. Special FX make-up by Chris Bridges and Tony Labatt are the highlight of the film filled with fascinating winks back to the gullible audience. Not trying to overpopulate the film with countless characters and subplots, Power and Hynes keep the film headed in a straight forward motion towards an ending that was unexpected yet not overly forced. We get cuts from interviews of a police detective, a behavioral analyst and scenes of a radio personality giving their take on the carnage left in Anthony's wake, but the movie centers and focuses on Anthony without a barrage of interference. Long Pig is a 'Culinary term for the human corpse' and after experiencing a glimpse into the life of a madman, I am disappointed in myself when I report that I would buy the cookbook Anthony longs to scribe. Long Pigs is available on DVD and should be searched out. It is a charming and absorbing feature that has put its production team on my 'To Watch' List. www.killerreviews.com