PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Move over, Texas! There is a brand new chainsaw-wielding maniac across the pond. Hailed as the British version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Cannibal Farm was released on January 2nd to stream on VOD. The film follows the Harver family on a camping trip turned gory as they encounter the horrors at the Hansen Farm.
Synopsis:
The Harver family head out on an idyllic summer camping trip where they can bury past tensions and enjoy some family bonding. But when their camp is sabotaged by an unseen intruder in the night, they head to the nearby creepy old farm desperate for help, where vengeful farmer Hunt Hansen and his hideously deformed son aren’t farming animals…
Cannibal Farm was written and directed by Charlie Steeds (Deadman Apocalypse, The Barge People). The cast includes Kate Marie Davies (Horizon), Barrington De La Roche (Deadman Apocalypse – read our review here), David Lenik (The Barge People), Rowena Bentley (Winterskin), Toby Wynn-Davies (Dogged – read our review here), and Peter Cosgrove (Grainne Uaile-The Movie). A lot of the cast have worked on projects together including Deadman Apocalypse, The Barge People, Winterskin, and The House of Violent Desire.
What Works
Cannibal Farm seems to be a familiar story since it almost exactly mirrors Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It is about a family taking a camping trip in the great outdoors with them thinking, “What could really go wrong?” One of the farmhouse members sets up the entire family to be a meal for the cannibal farm family. The movie is gory, which shows in the awesome practical effects. Lastly, there is a twist in the end. Let’s just say that the final girl theory is flipped on its head at the end of Cannibal Farm.
What Doesn’t Work
Even though Cannibal Farm is as gory as Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the audience has to suspend its disbelief a lot. First, one of the family members has their hands blown off by trying to escape an electrified cage. A burned body even climbs out of a furnace still alive. Lastly, I just want to point out the skeleton from the science class. I feel like the skeleton should have been dirtied up or charred to show that body had been burned.
Although it has some faults, I feel like Cannibal Farm can really pull through it and develop something truly terrifying. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the Cannibal Farm team and cast. I would check it out for the story and the awesome practical effects alone. Cannibal Farm can be streamed today on VOD.
