We’re back with a Free For All month which will no doubt include mostly horror because honestly, does any other genre matter? While there’s no guarantee it will all go according to plan, I do know that our next few choices appear to be incredibly oddball which has always been the backbone of the Collab.
This week we examine extreme bullying, fatphobia, fetishism and the concept of revenge. There’s a lot to unpack from this Spanish indie, adapted from Carlota Pereda’s 2019 short. Whether it works at feature length is up for discussion. Here goes.
Piggy
Directed by: Carlota Pereda
Spain, 2022
Drama, horror, thriller
Runtime: 99 minutes
Synopsis:
An overweight teen is bullied by a clique of cool girls poolside while holidaying in her village. The long walk home will change the rest of her life.
*Minor spoilers*
Sara (Laura Galán) is a fat young woman who’s sadly caught the eye of local cunt-face Maca and her sidekicks, Roci and Claudia. The bitchy trio dedicate their days to hurling fatphobic abuse and visiting Sara at her family’s business – a butcher shop – to torment her. I mean, she does have the audacity to be overweight so it’s hardly surprising she’s not worthy of basic respect.
One day, Sara ventures to the local pool to enjoy the things thin people do without questioning. All is well until she’s accosted by the bullies, who humiliate her in front of another bather – then steal her clothes and backpack, leaving her to walk home in her bikini. Predictably, Sara is further harassed by a gang of shit head boys who film her shame – then runs off the beaten track where she catches a stranger in the act of violently abducting Maca, Roci and Claudia. When one of the girls begs Sara for help, she fails to act, allowing the stranger to escape. Not before he furnishes her with a blanket to cover up with though.
Later, Sara is outed as being one of the last people to see the missing girls but denies being at the pool that day. Meanwhile the police report two further missing persons – a lifeguard and a local waitress.
It’s not long before Sara’s conscience – or curiosity? – gets the better of her and she works out a way to track down the missing girls. On a midnight excursion she manages to locate her missing iPhone which leads her to meet the stranger, the man who took Maca & co. Oddly enough the exchange is not as repugnant as expected and he shows Sara affection. I mean, we’ve all ignored red flags, right? No judgement here.
While Sara grapples with the confusion that comes from that – and the discovery of a body or two – the townspeople begin to suspect local boy Pedro of his involvement in the girls’ disappearance. Pedro begs Sara to protect him with the truth if the police come calling which is rich considering his meanness towards her but okay.
Will Sara meet her deadly stranger again – get the chance to right her original moral wrong and save her bullies? Or, do those fucking bitches deserve everything they get?
This was a film I was really looking forward to and although its set up is brilliant, I’m not entirely sure about what it wants from me. There were times the tone gave me the ick, pushing a romantic agenda between Sara and the kidnapper and I didn’t like it. While there’s not much dialogue between the two of them, and his motivation isn’t crystal clear, his interest in Sara seems problematic too. It’s hard to look beyond the apparent pity but she’s also barely an adult and he’s very intense.
I also don’t think there’s a lot of character padding and Sara feels quite hollow. I feel sympathy for her – and some of the bullying scenes are very triggering – but there’s not an awful lot going on beyond that. I think she comes through in the end, so I can’t accuse her of not being a badass but the journey to get to the end is a little wishy washy.
Otherwise, it was fine. A little slow and muddled in places but okay. Nothing beats the scene from the trailer, which also forms the bulk of the short film version and that’s a shame.
My rating
3/5
What did Jill think? Would she let it get taken or fight tooth and nail to save it? Find out here.
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