Chop

When a film is advertised as a horror comedy it really has to live up to its billing. Especially if it is a low-budget film. It has to have everything in place otherwise the viewer will start to pick holes in the film from the start and never engage with the film. Knowing nothing about Chop prior to viewing it I had no expectations . I even avoided IMDB so I would not be prejudiced by other reviews. So does Chop cut it as a horror and / or a comedy?

A tale of revenge. A dish best served in bits according to this film .The tale opens with a car breaking down miles from anywhere. The driver Lance (Will Keenan) is late for an appointment. Another driver pulls up and offers Lance a lift. No sooner are they on their way than the stranger (Timothy Muskatell) shoots Lance with a tranquilizer gun. Lance awakes to find himself with the stranger and Lance’s brother who is bound and gagged. Lance is offered a choice. Either he dies at the hands of the stranger or he kills his brother. To sweeten the deal the stranger tells Lance that his bother is having an affair with Lance’s wife. Lets just say that a wedge is permanently driven between Lance and his brother at this point. Lance now must go back to living a normal life alongside his unfaithful wife with the stranger somehow monitoring his every move. If Lance cannot keep his mouth shut the stranger has a plan which he intends to put into practice one bloody piece at a time.

This is a terrible film. There is no redeeming points at all to it. Low budget films do not necessary mean a drop in quality. There are many examples of films that succeed in spite of financial limitations. In the right hands this leads to invention and innovation making the film more interesting and engaging than your usual Hollywood fare. Alas this film has none of that. The acting on display from the main characters and most of the minor ones is poor to say the least. I am unfamiliar with the actors so I cannot judge their abilities on anything other than what I see on display. It could have something to do with the awful screenplay I suppose. Still the main performance is over the top at all times even when the scene did not require it. It takes you completely out of the film and after a while becomes totally irritating. This is a pity as the premise of the film is quite interesting.

For a film billed as a horror comedy it fails dismally on both counts. The humour falls flat on every occasion. There is little in the way of horror. No tension at any time, little gore and basically nothing in the way of shocks or twists.

Overall, a reasonable good idea wasted in its execution. Avoid.

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John McArthur

Editor-in-Chief at Moviescramble. A Fan of all things cinematic with a love of Film Noir, Sci-Fi and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill. He hopes to grow up some day.