Piggy is an intense horror movie, that walks the lines of familiar tropes, but at the same time creates something very unique and captivating.
When Piggy first started I thought for sure I knew where it was heading. I was instantly getting Carrie vibes because of the bullies that Sara was dealing with, and having seen the still of her covered in blood. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Sara has been bullied to the point of misery by three mean girls, one of which she used to consider a good friend. After a particularly brutal bullying session, they are kidnapped by a man who seemingly did so because of how they were treating her. As the movie goes on she is unsure if she should speak to the police and help rescue the girls, or keep quiet and protect the man who saved her.
Piggy feels like something unlike anything I have ever seen before. It is very much a horror movie but it is packed with twists, turns, and surprises. It only takes about twenty minutes to completely flip the script and an already somewhat suspenseful movie goes completely bananas.
The entire last hour of Piggy will be spent on the edge of your seat, as things get more and more crazy. This film is unique in that you discover the killer from the start. This movie isn’t about trying to solve the mystery of who he or she is, it is about deciding whether or not to do the right thing. Sara has been tormented by these girls and to be rid of them for the rest of her life is not a bad thing.
There is one big issue with Piggy though, and that is that it feels like it censors itself when it comes to the bloody and brutal moments. As someone who appreciates blood and gore when it fits, this movie deserves to go fully there, and unfortunately it never does. Piggy often cuts away from the scenes that could have, and should have, gone all out.
Piggy touches on the effects of bullying. How it can mess with the mind and turn someone into a shell of themselves, someone that they would barely recognize. Poor Sara is pushed to her breaking point and becomes a confused young girl, who has no clue what she should do in a rare situation.
Laura Galán is phenomenal in the role, making Sara very easy to connect with, and her journey extremely believable. Piggy is an intense horror movie, that walks the lines of familiar tropes, but at the same time creates something very unique and captivating.
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Rating: 4 out of 5
About Piggy
With the summer sun beating down on her rural Spanish town, Sara hides away in her parent’s butcher shop. A teenager whose excess weight makes her the target of incessant bullying, she flees a clique of capricious girls who torment her at the town pool, only to stumble upon them being brutally kidnapped by a stranger, who drives off with them in his van.
When the police begin asking questions, Sara keeps quiet. Intrigued by the stranger — an interest that’s mutual — she’s torn between revealing the truth and protecting the man who saved her.
Piggy played at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and Fantasia 2022.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.