I had stumbled upon some documentary about the actual events just last month, but other than that, then I wasn't aware of the happenings of the real life events. And I didn't know that they had turned it into a movie. And as I happened to stumble upon the 2022 movie "Pig Killer" I didn't know that it was based on that, so that was a nice surprise to find out.

Initially I sat down to watch "Pig Killer" because it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, plus it had Bai Ling on the cast list. So of course I opted to sit down and watch this movie from writer and director Chad Ferrin.

The movie does have a good cast, and there are some familiar faces here as well, with the likes of Jake Busey, Lew Temple, Bai Ling, Ginger Lynn, Michael Paré, Robert Miano and James Russo. The acting performances in "Pig Killer" were good, and the actors and actresses brought the storyline and their characters to life on the screen nicely. I have to admit that I wasn't really sure of Jake Busey in the lead, but he really stepped up to the task and put on a great performance.

There is actually a fair amount of gore and gruesome violence in the movie. And that was definitely something that helped keep the movie afloat for a gorehound such as myself.

I found "Pig Killer" to be an interesting movie, especially when you know that it is based on actual events. And I have to say that I was definitely adequately entertained throughout the course of the movie. And I don't understand why the movie has landed such a low rating here on IMDb; 3.7 as I am writing this review. I found the movie to be quite good, but of course taste is individual.

My rating of "Pig Killer" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Pig Killer is a film that attempts to delve into the dark and disturbing world of Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, but falls short on several fronts. The overall execution of the movie leaves much to be desired, making it an unsatisfying melodramatic experience.

One of the most glaring issues with Pig Killer is its use of a classic 80s soundtrack blaring non stop. While the intention might have been to create an atmosphere of nostalgia, it instead comes across as intrusive and out of place. The jarring juxtaposition of upbeat tunes with the grim subject matter becomes a constant distraction and interrupts any attempt at building tension or conveying the gravity of the story.

Perhaps the filmmakers were aiming for a gritty, exploitation-style approach to the narrative, akin to The Scary of Sixty-First. However, unlike The Scary of Sixty-First, which successfully captured the essence of exploitation films, Pig Killer fails to find the right balance. The tone of the movie wavers, never quite settling into a consistent style, leaving the audience unsure of what to expect or feel.

If you're gonna go full trashy like the exploitation films of yesteryear then why was there so much horrible melodrama? In the end, Pig Killer is a film that doesn't live up to its potential. The 2 hour run time didn't do much for it either - would love to see it recut to an hour and a half & see if it helps with the tone of the flick but for now it's a lot of missed potential.

After a series of encounters, a vicious serial killer uses his operations as a pig farmer for the cover he needs to carry out the crimes he commits to placate his damaged upcoming, and when an equally damaged young woman comes into his life she finds herself the next potential target of the madman.

Overall, this is a fun enough genre effort. One of the finer aspects here is that this one manages to provide a solid background on the exploits of the killer. Given a rather novel approach here with the mistreated pervert who just so happens to kill women due to the in-depth relationship status that this utilizes with the constant flashbacks reminiscing on the bullying he suffered as a kid as well as the incestuous nature of his relationship with his mother. This all provides the kind of cliched if still worthwhile setup for the kind of story that's being told here as the type of sleazy antics on display as an adult focus on the graphic dismemberment of the corpses in full detail. This provides the kind of graphic gore and sleaze with how it deals with showing the sexuality at the heart of the matter to provide some likable factors. There are some issues with this one. The main one here is the overlong and excessive running length that comes with some rather unnecessary sidestories that cause this. As so much of the exploits of his crimes revolve around the systematic dismemberment of his victims before feeding them to his pet pig, a lot of this grows increasingly repetitive following the same admittedly disturbing setups but it's not enough to overcome how familiar a lot of this is. That also extends to the cliched amount of setup at play here involving the daughter's drug-induced lifestyle that draws her together with him that follows so many cliched and familiar tropes that run the film out far longer than it should detailing her home strife and then later meeting him that runs through a lot of the film. These are what end up holding the film down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Graphic Full Nudity, heavy drug use, and sex scenes.