Willy Pickton-inspired Pig Killer raises questions about how we react to works that fall under the umbrella of "art"

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      Sometimes it’s not only literally difficult to find the words, but also enough to make one question one’s long-held views on art.

      We’ll get to the 2022 indie horror film Pig Killer in a minute. But first, a couple of questions?

      Given that it’s inspired by a series of real-life events, is it wrong to consider Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre one of the greatest horror films of all time?

      Because, on paper, the lyrics to the Geto Boys’ “Mind of a Lunatic” are six-ways-to-Sunday plain wrong and epically misogynistic (sample, “The sight of blood excites me, shoot you in the head/Sit down, and watch you bleed to death”), are they so morally bankrupt it’s wrong to see them as just words?

      And...actually, enough—you get the general parameters of where this is going.

      One of the most horrific series of crimes in the history of Canada has now been used as the basis for a new movie, where the cast includes Jake Busey and adult-film star Ginger Lynn Allen.

      Directed by American Chad Ferrin, and coproduced by The Crappy World Films, Girls and Corpses, and Laurelwood Pictures, Pig Killer is described as “Inspired by the terrifying story of Robert Willy Pickton, whose horrific crimes shocked the world.”

      Sometimes known as the Pig Farmer Killer, Pickton is an incarcerated Greater Vancouver serial killer convicted in 2007 of the second-degree murders of six women. He was charged with the deaths of an additional 20 women, many from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, but not convicted after charges were stayed by the Crown in 2010.

      As per Wikpedia, “During the trial’s first day of jury evidence, the Crown stated that Pickton had confessed to 49 murders to an undercover agent from the Office of Inspector General, who was posing as a cellmate. The Crown reported that Pickton told the officer that he wanted to kill another woman to make it an even 50, and that he was caught because he was ‘sloppy’.”

      The film synopsis for Pig Killer is as follows: “With his herculean hog Balthazar, by his side, Willy and his menagerie of colourful cohorts terrorise Vancouver’s seedy downtown until his arrest, which uncovered a horrific series of brutal Canadian murders.”

      The film reportedly had its premiere at the Sydney Underground Film Festival on September 9, 2022.

      If you’re from Vancouver, it’s hard to know what to say, even if you believe that art—including low-budget movie-making—has its own set of rules.

      If you need to see the trailer, you can go here

      Comments