Black Sheep Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Get ready for the Violence of the Lambs!
Get the flock out of here!
There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand... and they're pissed off!
A new breed of comedy horror
The sheep on this farm have turned to the baaaaaad side
Shear terror!
An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.
| Nathan Meister | Henry Oldfield |
| Danielle Mason | Experience |
| Peter Feeney | Angus Oldfield |
| Tammy Davis | Tucker |
| Glenis Levestam | Mrs. Mac |
| Tandi Wright | Dr. Rush |
| Oliver Driver | Grant |
| Matthew Chamberlain | Oliver Oldfield |
| Nick Fenton | Young Henry |
| Sam Clarke | Young Tucker |
| Eli Kent | Young Angus |
| Nick Blake | Taxi Driver |
| Richard Chapman | Muldoon |
| Louis Sutherland | Winston |
| Ian Harcourt | Brash |
| Jonathan King |
6.20 out of 10 (4521 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Not funny, not scary, not GOOD
posted on 26 Aug 2009*****NO SPOILERS YET***** Horror comedy? Give me a break! There was nothing comical or horrifying about this "movie".I got about 45 minutes into the movie before I finally got so bored and fed up with the ridiculous attempts to be funny or scary that I shut it off.The comedy was in no way/shape/ or form funny. I didn't even crack a smile.The horror was just as stupid.*****SPOILERS***** In the first minute, a kid cuts off a lamb's head and wears it. What purpose does that serve? A mutant lamb fetus crawls around and bites things, making them evil. Ridiculous? You bet. Entertaining? Not in the least bit.A hippie kills a rabbit for absolutely no reason. Wow.*****END OF SPOILERS***** So, if you want a good horror comedy, do not watch this. You will regret it.1/10
Bloody fabulous!
posted on 18 Aug 2009I picked up this film expecting a laugh or two just from getting a glimpse of killer sheep. I'm so glad I did; I have to say this movie is just hilarious. I agree that anyone that says this movie is terrible completely missed the point. I was impressed that they managed to form an actual plot around the premise and that while all of the actors were relatively (if not completely) unknown performed quite well. I expect we will see more of Nathan Meister as well as Danielle Mason. I would say this movie is very "Shawn of the Dead," except of course, with sheep. This film has cult classic written all over it. I can't wait to see what Jonathan King has for us next! If you can't enjoy this one, I'd say there's probably a lot in life you can't enjoy.
Well, its original...
posted on 27 Jun 2009I went into Black Sheep expecting something ingenious brilliant, original and downright hilarious. The premise in my eyes said it all, it was a movie about killer sheep. Snakes on a Plane was brilliant in my eyes and I expected Black Sheep to be along those sort of lines. Alas, Black Sheep is not as good as Snakes on a Plane, nor is a fifth as good as Shaun of the Dead like a lot of reviewers have been comparing this movie to. Black Sheep is entertaining, and the novelty of watching sheep's kill people is an amusing one, but unfortunately this is a one joke movie, and the joke gets stretched very thin by the end of its run time. Black Sheep does admittedly make you laugh, and it certainly does not scrimp on the gore, in fact there are scenes in this movie that made me surprised the movie got its 15 rating! Especially a scene involving, ahem, a castration! The humour ranges from some good one liners, emphasise on some because there are some one liners that fall flat on their faces, to some pretty funny slapstick scenes, a sheep driving a car off a cliff did admittedly provide me with the one laugh out loud moment. Unfortunately though the pretty poor acting and little new ideas after the halfway mark just left me a tiny bit bored after a while. Black Sheep is hardly an awful movie, its just a bit of a disappointing one given the actual idea of it, so at the moment Black Sheep remains just a decent idea with a below average movie to back it up. Still its worth seeing if only to see the sheep kill people.The acting of the movie is one of the very worst things about it. Lead actor, Nathan Meister walks out of the film with his dignity remained intact, mainly because he does a half decent job with diabolical dialogue. His character remains likable and he does have some good moments in the middle part of the film. Unfortunately though his romance, with co-star Danielle Mason is the very weakest part of the movie. The reason why he romance is weak is because Mason is such a terrible actress. There are moments in the beginning of the movie where I just sat in my chair horrified as to why she was even cast! Thankfuly she scrapes average by the end of the film, but the beginning parts with her awful dialogue and leaden performance were still lingering in my mind. Peter Feeney is a pretty unimpressive villain to be honest and his character remains too complicated and unexplained for me to actually think anything of the character. Tammy Davis as Tucker plays a likable character, but poor dialogue and little to do leave his character pretty superfluous by the end of the movie. In fact it says a lot for the cast when the entire cast of sheep are much better than the majority of them, and all they have to do is go baa! One thing that did surprise me about Black Sheep is the fact it does have a fair amount of atmosphere to it, and I commend the movie for not using jump scares. If the director had decided to make the movie a serious horror movie I still believe it could have worked quite well, there are moments when I found the sheep to be slightly creepier than I wanted to admit. But the director chose the comedy route, which is partly the movies weakness as it just isn't that funny. The first time you see a sheep attack it is pretty funny, the sheep driving a car over a cliff is hilarious, the sheep attacking people is occasionally funny, and the explosive ending is pretty funny as well. But for a movie that is nearly 90 minutes there just aren't that many jokes. In fact once you have laughed at the sheep running at people three times you get pretty bored by the tenth time they do it. Stoylines are also left a bit unexplained. The quite frankly disturbing section at the beginning is left unresolved and why the character did what he did still remains a mystery to me. I also felt the characters had other parts of information told to the audience, leading me to believe it was important information, only for that character to not show up again for half the movie. The were-sheep also start to wear pretty thin after a while as well.Overall Black Sheep is a just about above average movie that I think should have been a superb movie. The idea remains brilliant and the great gore and occasionally funny scene make the movie worth watching. But this is a highly unmemorable movie with leaden acting and a dodgy script. Unfrtunately this movie has too many baaa-ad moments (what, I had to insert at least one dodgy sheep pun somewhere) for its own good.
More comedy then Horror, but fun as heck
posted on 01 Jun 2009I have to say that this movie kept me laughing the whole time. The first 10 minutes of the movie, it was a little hard to get past the colloquialisms and New Zealand Slang, but as the movie moved on, so did the laughs and the hilarity.This movie is definitely worth a watch! The special effects are quite decent, and the plot is zany but intriguing. This movie was brilliantly filmed with great acting and camera angles.Can't wait to see more from this director :) I would recommend at least a watch for anyone with the opportunity!If you like comedic horror, this is the film for you!
Don't pass up this film, it's worth your time.
posted on 14 May 2009I've never written a review before, but I feel that this is a film that might be easily overlooked. I promise I'm not a shill, I simply enjoyed it so much I feel compelled to recommend it.I saw this movie on a whim, because I've tired of mainstream American films (perhaps I feel like I'd written most of them). I didn't expect much, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I could use a line like "a laugh a minute", but I think that would dishonor the experience. Very funny, well written, original, and entirely unexpected. Kudos to the cast and crew. If you want some light-hearted blood and guts, but don't want to watch Shaun of the Dead again, consider this an option.
How did it go wrong?
posted on 14 May 2009This film would seem to have everything going for it: competent direction, excellent score, effects by the masters at WETA, and carnivorous sheep. So what happened? The acting, while occasionally good, is often terrible. I understand the importance of an all-indie cast, but couldn't they have found good actors? But perhaps they aren't as bad as it seems, what with the terrible script. It appears that writer/director Jonathan King (who should stick to the directing and leave the words on the page to someone else) was trying to make a film like those of early career Peter Jackson (think Bad Taste and Braindead): horrifically gory but shockingly funny; and he failed on both counts. While there were a few moments where I laughed, most of it was forced and often just terrible writing ("The Feng Shui in this room is terrible!"). Sometimes the jokes would have worked if the timing of the actors and the editing was better, but that, apparently, was too much to ask. He should have jumped right into it, making everything gory and shocking and funny at the same time (for instance, there could have been a freaky if hilarious scene where Angus could have mated with the pure white sheep, instead of the one-off "animal husbandry" line). I was really hoping this would be good, but it wasn't. A disappointment.
Sheep send me to sleep
posted on 12 May 2009This film.. was made for people in the sticks with webbed feet and 6 toes.... not great, bad acting... and an even worse story line. Its like Dawn of the dead meets babe? U get bit by a sheep.. u slowly turn into one? It does not make sense and wont work in any way at all. I would rather watch an old man watching paint dry? A sheep humping a man wearing a sheep skin car cover? Whatever next? Sharing a toothbrush with a horse? No thanks don't like it, its not clever or funny. I wanna know whos lightbulb lit up with "i have an idea, lets make sheep aggressive?? it tickles me to think people spent time and effort on this, and its amuses me more to imagine this film winning an award. That would be funny. Please people in New Zealand... take up a hobby or 2... leave the film making to the masters!
Great gore
posted on 04 Apr 2009A delirious mix of broad comedy and wall-to-wall splatter, the New Zealand feature Black Sheep makes a convincing case for sheep as the new modern horror icon. These sheep aren't the garden variety grass eaters, however; they're genetically altered sheep who develop a ravenous hunger for human flesh after an experimental fetus is accidentally unleashed on a sprawling ranch by a hapless environmentalist (Kiwi actor and broadcaster Oliver Driver). And to make matters worse, those bitten by the monster sheep transform into monstrous "were-sheep" (spectacularly absurd creations by the Weta Workshop). The resulting clash between man and sheep is soaked in gore, of course, but the violence is taken to such outlandish extremes that only the easily nauseated or terminally grumpy will find it offensive. Writer/director Jonathan King's debut feature juggles the gore and the gags (many of which gleefully tread the lowbrow path) with skill thanks to an energetic cast, especially Nathan Meister as the sheep-phobic hero and Danielle Mason as an animal rights crusader who discovers her inner carnivore. The unrated DVD includes commentary by King and Meister, a 30-minute making-of featurette which includes an interview with Richard Taylor of Weta on the film's elaborate creatures, a smattering of deleted scenes, blooper reel, and a half-minute visual joke titled "Early Morning" that was shot especially for the DVD release.
Great idea, execution could have been better
posted on 04 Apr 2009My attention was drawn to this movie when I saw the cover of the DVD in an electronics store. Upon closer inspection I knew I had to get this movie, as the distributor claims it to be in the same category as Peter Jackson's Braindead. Braindead being my all-time favorite disgusting comedy it was a no-brainer to me (pun intended) to buy this movie. The concept of murderous sheep is hilarious in itself, which made me like the movie before I even watched it. However, now I have seen it I am a little disappointed in the execution of the idea. Sure, the movie is funny and has a lot of laughs, but it is not as much over the top and funny as Braindead. When explicitly referring to the similarity to that movie, I can't help but make a comparison. Black sheep gives me the idea that the writers were trying too hard for it to be funny. The 'hippy chick' named Experience also really annoyed me, as her karma chi babbling seems to be drawn straight from corny sitcoms such as Friends. Like this example there are several other too simple or missed jokes which the movie could have done without. Fans of the genre horror comedies should still watch this movie, as good entries in the genre are scarce. However, this movie has to recognize the likes of 'Braindead' and 'Shaun of the dead' as its superiors. I would rank this movie at about the same level as I would rank 'Army of darkness' and 'Idle hands', which are also great but not classics.
Good comic horror
posted on 02 Apr 2009An eco warrior and his girlfriend accidentally release a toxic sheep from a genetics lab. The virus spreads through the sheep population, who are now attacking and biting their human masters, the results being Weresheep?. The girlfriend teams up with the brother of the man who owns the farm, he has his own fight to stop his brother's dastardly work. Its a fight to the death and a case of survival of the fittest. Crazy idea that works quite well, only because its played tongue in cheek and for laughs, pretty much in the vein of Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead. There's very little in the way of scares, but its not the worst way to pass 90 mins.
Average gore-fest with fluffy sheep.
posted on 31 Mar 2009When the trailer of this film came out i thought it seemed a bit of fun and so i watched it with an open mind, not expecting too much but i was quite confused by the whole experience really.A film about mutant sheep is funny in itself and many of the funny moments were simply sheep flying through the air and driving cars but in that respect would it also be funny if it were killer geese instead? the script was pretty dire, I wasn't sure whether the actors were really bad or they were purposely trying to pretend they were in a b-movie.On the DVD cover it compares this film to Shaun of the dead, in what universe can they be compared except for blood and guts everywhere? Shaun of the dead is clever, witty and well acted with visual jokes and one liners, Black sheep had no one liners but three people being faintly sort of agitated that there were killer sheep rampaging around New Zealand. i'm still uncertain if there was a story, a beginning, middle and an end would have been good, instead it just featured sheep mutilating people with no real plot line or depth of character.The good points however seeing as it is supposed to be a bit of a laugh, me and my friends have never laughed so much at an old woman holding a shotgun at a mutant seven foot sheep and shouting at him 'my haggis' when he had knocked into the table.lastly and definitely least the way they defeated the sheep in the end was 'funny' (SPOILIER)( Who'd have thought farting sheep and a lighter would save them!) but not much of a satisfying ending.
mwaaaaah...
posted on 19 Mar 2009I didn't expect BS to be scary, but I did expect it to be funny. At least funnier than it was. To me a lot of the humour fell flat and just didn't work very well. The effects were OK though. I've seen some reviews mention the first Evil Dead as a comparison, but that movie is infinitely superior (especially in the scares-department) and probably cost a lot less to make.I think also one of the main problems with BS is that it is a fairly slow movie. There are a lot of moments when it's just people walking and talking and that is something you really don't need in a movie about killer sheep. It's something that Peter Jackson avoided in Braindead, he just brought waves of gore and that is exactly what i missed in this one.
Very likable dark comedy/horror film.
posted on 19 Mar 2009Henry (Nathan Meister) returns to his father's farm after fifteen years. Henry has become afraid of sheep after his older brother nearly scared him to death by wearing sheep skin (and his head) on his body. His brother Angus (Peter Feeney sold the family farm but he doesn't realized that Angus has been genetically altering the sheep's. Now these sheep's are hungry for blood and Henry along with an animal activist (Danielle Mason) & Henry's buddy (Tammy Davis) has no choice to stop them.Written and Directed by Jonathan King made an genuinely twisted black comedy/horror/ fantasy with plenty of laughs and some wildly imaginative ideas. Writer/Director King, his crew and his cast members seems to be having an great time making this movie. Good special effects/creature designs by the Oscar-Winning Peter Jackson's WETA workshop highlight this well-made import.The DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD has an amusing running commentary by the writer/director King and actor Meister, a 30 minute featurette, deleted scenes with optional commentary by King and Meister and more. "Black Sheeo" is certainly a lot of fun to watch that recalls some of Peter Jackson's earlier movies. Although it's no instant classic but it will certainly have a cult following. It's worth checking out. Super 35. (*** 1/2 out of *****).
Black Sheep was like a bad 1980's Gore movie
posted on 17 Mar 2009Killer sheep is right up there with killer tomatoes in the great horror movie ideas genre. A story about a sheep-o-phobic (yeah I know there's no such word) brother who returns to his ancestral farm to find his older brother is trying to make big bucks by genetically engineering sheep. His sheep er... loving brother's plans have backfired and the sheep have become flesh eating killers. The odd funny killer sheep wrestling moments early on subside to a 'horror by numbers' movie full of late 1970's special effects. I note that a previous reviewer compared it with Dawn of the Dead, but i'm afraid this was more like the dozens of other cheap zombie movies that Dawn of the Dead spawned. So unless your the sort of person who liked watching cheap 1970-80's videos by unknown directors of such movies as 'Hard rock zombies' ,'Night of the Zombies' or 'Hot Wax Zombies on Wheels' then give this a miss as the few laughs you get just isn't worth wasting 87 minutes of your life.
Probably the most original concept of all time - but didn't impress!!!
posted on 15 Mar 2009Being a New Zealander I thought it was my duty to check this movie out and give it all the support I could. I wish I hadn't. The jokes were terrible, so I wouldn't call it a comedy. They didn't even try to make me jump once, so it wasn't a thriller. There was certainly nothing remarkably gory that you couldn't find in a 100 other films, so it wasn't a horror. What was it you ask - a failure. I suppose the reason I was excited about seeing it was that I figured it must have something really good going for it. You don't decide to make a movie about killer sheep without having something special to throw into the mix with it. But that appears to be what they've done.The script was bad, the direction was average at best (even for a first timer) and don't even get me started on the acting. New Zealanders may be fantastic at special effects but as far as acting goes, well I think the sheep did a better job than the people. All in all not much fun to sit through, therefore I think you'd be wise to give it a miss.
Are you feeling a little sheepish?
posted on 13 Mar 2009I've always loved Peter Jackson's early movies... "Bad Taste" is one of my absolute all time favourites, and "Braindead" is up there too. When I heard about this one I was more than a little bit excited.Killer Zombie sheep? Effects by Jackson's own WETA Workshop? A woolly gore-fest?Can't go wrong... right?Well... thankfully the answer is a resounding YES!This movie took me back to the heady days when I first discovered Jackson's genius, sitting in the dark at the Prince Charles Cinema in London as an under-age spotty git watching "Bad Taste" for the first time (when no-one else knew anything about it)."Black Sheep" really is that good, that gory, and (most importantly) that funny.The basic premise centres around genetic modification of livestock (very relevant in today's society). When a sheep farmer decides to interfere with Mother Nature in order to create a new line of super sheep, he inadvertently creates a menace that goes on the rampage in VERY large furry numbers.The best thing about this movie is that the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek whilst still delivering some great scares and gory moments. The final sheep attack is brilliantly realised, as thousands of the little buggers descend on a group of farmers who frankly have no chance. I haven't laughed so much in ages (the foot scene - I don't wanna spoil it - is a killer).Every conceivable sheep joke is in here, from shagging to farting via an extremely original use of a jar of mint sauce.And as for the were-sheep transformations (yes, you read that right) well, they're brilliantly realised and a deliberate homage to "American Werewolf In London" (that's coming from the director's own mouth).Excellent to see a film that doesn't rely on CGI to get scares - this is a physical effects movie that works brilliantly, and reminds me very strongly of the likes of "Re-Animator", where the gore seemed well... more nasty but silly at the same time.This is a BRILLIANT movie and definitely one for anybody with a sense of humour as sick and depraved as mine. I loved it, and I really hope it does well.
Great for what it is
posted on 09 Mar 2009I saw this movie with a friend, he liked it more than I did but it was a pretty good movie for what it is suppose to be..I don't understand these people writing putting this movie down. Hello you rented a movie about killer zombie Sheep, Oscar material its not. I found the movie hilarious, fun, non stop action, Gory at times, awesome scene when the group of buyers are hearing Angus Speech..The were sheep was a bit much and the ending unsatisfying but all in all it was a great fun horror flick to watch.. The effects were OK and the I found the acting fine so I don't know why others put them down. You act in a movie about killer sheep and see how you do..In conclusion well worth the time and the watch..
Rather like a demented episode of Monty Python.
posted on 05 Mar 2009Yes, this movie is nothing to take to seriously...that being said I found it a very funny and good movie. The concept alone is worth a chuckle as I did when I first saw it advertised and just thought it was a made up movie, a sort of joke. When I finally found out it was an actual movie my curiosity was piqued. I saw a trailer of it on the movie "1408" and figured I would in fact check it out. The story, well there are killer sheep, dude. Yes, there is some experimenting going on and there is lots of gore as these sheep really know how to rip into the flesh. Thank the special effects crew that did the Lord of the Rings trilogy for that. Is it all good, nah...moves slowly here and there and some of the jokes miss the mark too, but all in all this has to be the best movie about killer sheep ever made!!! Subsequently, it is probably the only one of its type made so I guess it could be said it was the worst too. However, I found the movie rather good as the special effects and gore effects were like those in some classic gore comedies like Peter Jackson's "Braindead", you also get a likable enough cast. Of course, you also get to see lots and lots of sheep...you think to yourself, how does one come up with a movie like this? However, there are lots of sheep in New Zealand so I guess for the maker of this film it was a natural.
A disaster!
posted on 21 Feb 2009This movie is not funny or scary at all. It's just boring!I was intrigued ,when I first read the plot outline and saw the ratings here on IMDb , so I decided to watch it.I very rarely fail to watch a movie to the end but this time I couldn't persuade myself to watch it entirely. After approximately 45 min , I've started hitting the right arrow key. The idea is good and original. Zombie killer sheep sounds interesting. But, the story is bad and shallow.The acting is very bad if not terrible. Characters are really annoying in every sense. They're not funny or convincing at all.The director did a bad job here. I didn't find any scene to be interesting. Everything is predictable in this movie. There aren't any surprises.If you like comedies , skip this movie. If you like horrors, skip this movie. If you like bad movies , skip this movie 'cause it's "bad" only in negative sense.If you like boring movies then I suggest you to watch this movie. You'll be bored to death!
Black Humor
posted on 30 Aug 2009If you know the premise of the movie (I won't spoiler it for you if you don't know it already), than you also know that this is going to be dark ... a dark comedy that is! Two things to keep in mind here, it's a horror movie (with the aforementioned black humor) and it's bloody! So I need to warn people, this is not for the faint hearted! There are some pretty disgusting and nasty moments in it! My impression overall, is that this is a good movie. And you won't make a wrong decision watching it. But it's not a classic either. It's good fun, with great effects (WETA), nothing more, nothing less!