Monday, November 14, 2011

The Offspring 2009


Sometimes I need a good inbred cannibal film to lift my spirits.  Naturally, when I saw that IFC was playing Jack Ketchum's The Offspring I got very excited.  I only recently got into Jack Ketchum.  I have read about 4 of his books and I have appreciated them all.  I can't say that I have "enjoyed" them or even "liked" them, and I did need a shower after finishing them.  But, they are interesting to me, and they do offer a stress relief of a sort for me, much like inbred cannibal films.   


If you have read Ketchum's The Offspring then you pretty much know the movie.  It follows the source material pretty closely.  Directed by Andrew van den Houten and starring a bunch of unknown actors, The Offspring has a lot of gore, a lot of cannibalism, and a little rape and child killin' thrown in for good measure.  I wanted to take a shower after seeing this film.


In other words, The Offspring is not for the faint of heart, much like Ketchum's books.  The acting is pretty second rate (with two exceptions) and the pace is a bit off, but the gore is good. 

The acting exceptions are Pollyanna McIntosh, who plays the main cannibal.  Pollyanna is reprising her role in Lucky McKee's The Woman, which could be considered a sequel of sorts.  The other stand out is Art Hindle, who also produced the film...


Art Hindle is one of my favorite character actors and I think he should have had a bigger career. Look how bad ass he looks!  Hindle plays the alcoholic ex-cop who investigates the cannibal murders.  Hindle has starred in awesome movies and TV shows such as The Invasion of the Body Snatcher, The Brood, Friday the 13th the Series, and Beverly Hills 90210.  Most importantly, he starred in the Porky's movies.  Damn, I love the Porky's movies.  They are one of my top guilty pleasures, along with Flowers in the Attic and Deep Blue Sea.  I was very sad when I heard the actor who played the coolest Porky, Tommy Turner, passed away.

R.I.P Wyatt Knight.

This news made me so sad I might need another inbred cannibal film to lift me up. 

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