Albino Farm. MTI Video (2009). Reviewed by Brian Kirst
Aided by a nice sense of mystery-laden atmosphere, a delightfully aggressive performance by rising scream queen Bianca Barnett and a spookily unusual appearance by horror regular Kevin Spirtas (Friday the 13th Pt 7, The Hills have Eyes 2 and the Subspecies series), Albino Farm is a pleasantly successful entry in the hick horror genre.
After suffering a flat tire (and other horror influenced road trip maladies) four students, (lead by the genuine and compelling Tammin Sursok, an Australian superstar and US soap opera diva) documenting the rural experience for a college course, are told about the mysterious Albino Farm. Landing in Shiloh, a quaint village filled with secretive, genetically handicapped townsfolk, the four begin a search for the whispered about farm – but once they discover it, one can rest assured, that they will wish they had never found it.
Hidden among the necessary fright flick clichés (the hard drinking jock, the well meaning heroine), is a fine sense of dread filled texture, skillfully incorporated by writer-directors Joe Anderson and Sean McEwen. While there are the expected Hostel-like torture sequences, most importantly, Anderson and McEwen bring out fine tuned performances from leads, Sursok and Sunkrish Bala, while also providing maximum impact within two smaller roles (a friendly waitress and a mute boy) played meaningfully by Shelby Janes and Jackson Curtis.
It is Barnett’s passionate, nudity strewn Pig Bitch that brings the most soil strewn bang for the buck, though. Barnett’s sadistic enthusiasm is a delight to witness and one can only hope for a sequel in which she and the hysterical Sursok (whose character experiences a Marilyn Burns type fade out) can truly get it on!
