Piggy Review: Spanish Horror Film Explores Human Cruelty
The eerie scenes in horror movies aren't usually characterised by blood and violence. The horrifying elements of Piggy come from how harsh people are to the movie's lead character. This Spanish horror film, written and directed by Carlota Pereda, stars a protagonist who is stuck in a moral dilemma between the killer and those who bullied her to the point of being dangerously close to death. Though the narrative and pace could have been tighter at times, Piggy (Cerdita in Spanish) is nevertheless a satisfying watch with a slow-burning intensity that builds to a fantastic conclusion.
Teenager sara (Laura Galán) is cruelly teased and bullied over her weight by three unpleasant girls, Maca (Claudia Salas), Roci (Camille Aguilar), and Claudia (Irene Ferreiro), a former friend of Sara's. They mock sara and playfully come close to drowning her, calling her "Piggy." Although it appears that no one is willing to defend sara, not even her own mother (Carmen Machi), who reacts to the bullying by telling sara that she is overweight and needs to lose weight, a stranger (Richard Holmes) decides to take action by capturing the unkind girls. sara, who comes across the man in the middle of the kidnapping, is both impressed by him and afraid of what he might do. When the lifeguard at the pool and a waitress are discovered dead, Sara's little village starts to look into what's going on and starts interrogating her about Maca, Roci, and Claudia's disappearance.
The last third of the movie is particularly gory, but most of the tension is created by Sara's attempts to hide from the camera, which makes her previously suppressed rage come to the surdata-face and intensifies the interpersonal drama. sara is perfectly portrayed by Galán, who gives her warmth, frustration, and anxiety. The actress does a good job of portraying Sara's body insecurities by having her act small in an effort to avoid being noticed. Galán's expressive eyes portray a range of emotions, including astonishment, fear, shame, awe, and resolve. sara is a character that the audience will identify with and support.
But Piggy is far from ideal. The movie drags a little in the middle, largely because of the weak scripting, which slows down the movie's rhythm before it picks back up towards the end. Although it can be difficult to watch because of how brutal things can get, these things in no way hinder the horror movie, and Piggy is unquestionably worthwhile in the end.