This is (probably) the last Porkchop film review. While there has been no official confirmation, Porkchop 3D has a definite ending. Although, I do see how a possible fourth film could occur. If this is indeed the end of the franchise, at least it went out in a kick-ass way – 3D! I’ve been a fan of the films for a while now, but what did I think of the latest (and maybe last) entry in the series? Read on to find out.
CAUTION: There be spoilers ahead!
In Porkchop 3D, beloved characters from the first two films and brand new characters collide as they fight for survivor against Porkchop and his family of backwoods killers. Remember Heather (Kaylee Williams) from the last film? She survived…and she’s ready for revenge.
Cast members also include Dan Hicks (“Elron”), Sam Qualiana, Angela Pritchett (“Meg”), Rob Cobb (“Porkchop”), Brian Gunnoe (“Burt”), Missy Dawn, Elvis McComas, Lisa Taylor (“Mrs. Robertson”), and many more. Shawn C. Phillips serves as the introduction to the film. Porkchop 3D is written and directed by Eamon Hardiman under Razor Sharp Studios.
Let’s begin with the plot. While I love seeing some of the old cast members return, it was kind of confusing. Some of the cast members play old characters and some play brand new ones. For a while I thought Porkchop 3D was going the New Nightmare route, in that the actors behind the original characters would be targeted by the killer. With that said, I did enjoy the Porkchop Family parts of the plot. It gave a little more depth to the vicious killer, if there can be depth to a big man wearing a pig mask who kills people. We find out that Meg wasn’t Porkchop’s only family member, and Porkchop actually has feelings! Who knew?!
The cast members all give really solid performances; much better than in the previous films, in my opinion. Kaylee Williams is still the star and I love her scream. She has one of those indie scream queen screams you’d expect to hear from some of the great actresses in the Golden Age of Horror (80s). I still love Lisa Taylor’s character and her dry, sarcastic delivery of her lines is amazing. I wish she had some decent screen time this go around. As for the guys, Sam Qualiana seems to have improved his acting chops in less than a year. I enjoyed his portrayal of Teddy much more than Simon in Porkchops. Elvis McComas’ new character was more enjoyable this time too.
As far as the technical aspects of Porkchop 3D go – the scenes look beautiful, but the audio needs a lot of work. The entire scenery used in Porkchop 3D is set in the backwoods of West Virginia. That along with some masterful direction from Eamon Hardimon made every shot framed so beautifully. I never once thought, “Why did they film that like that?” while watching this flick. The audio is really the big draw back. The volume levels go up and down a lot, at least on my DVD copy. When characters go inside the cabin, you hear a blaring sound throughout that I wager a guess is the air conditioning unit. I know I’m not a master of film making by any means, but I feel this problem could have been avoided somehow.
Porkchop 3D is obviously in 3D (duh!). I’ve never been a fan of 3D movies and Porkchop 3D was really my first glimpse at 3D indie horror. Watching it in 3D, my stance on 3D films is now justified. I hated it in 3D! Here’s why… Eamon’s films are known for being gory and having interesting death sequences. That means blood blood blood. However, with the 3D glasses you kind of miss a lot of the FX and a lot of the blood. The cool addition of 3D actually takes away some of what made Eamon’s films so great to begin with. I actually ended up holding the 3D glasses in front of my face and peering through the blue square of the glasses. I thought, “Much better!” The quality of the camera seemed to be a step up from previous films too, but again, the 3D glasses eliminated some of greatness here.
So, what is my final opinion of Porkchop 3D? It definitely has its pros and cons. I enjoyed seeing the returning characters and a little more back story on Porkchop. There was a lot of comedy, including the “He’s in a gang!” part at the beginning. I enjoyed the role of Pig Lady and her partnership with Porkchop reminded me a lot of the parents from The Strangers. Porkchop 3D is also the first film in the series that actually felt retro to me. I’ve seen reviews citing the Porkchop films as homages to 80’s slasher films, and I never really felt that until this last film. But on the negative side, the plot can be confusing at first in terms of cast and characters. Another drawback is how the film veers way off course for too long of a time to focus on the killing of secondary characters. And, obviously, I hated that the 3D effect took away some of the magic that makes Razor Sharp movies so enjoyable.
I’ve met many of the cast and crew members in person by now and they are all really great people, but I need to be honest. Porkchop 3D is far from great. It has its parts where I thought, “This is great!” and then it had parts where I really didn’t enjoy what I was watching. Old fans from the first two films will enjoy it, while new fans may only give it one watch. All things considered, Porkchop 3D is just an average slasher flick. The pros match the cons equally resulting in a good movie watching experience, but the viewer will lack any strong opinion in either direction.
