Admittedly Piggy, from writer/director Carlota Pereda arrives at Grimmfest with a lot of hype behind it.
And deservedly so, this is stellar stuff.
We follow Sara, an overweight teenager who works in the local butchers for her parents. She is teased and mocked by other girls as she dreams of the hunky boy who hangs out with them.
As fate would have it, she crosses paths with a burgeoning serial killer who has an infatuation with her.
This could have been a straight forward serial killer drama, but Piggy is so much more complex than that, creating this connection between the protagonist and antagonist. It raises some moralist questions, as Sara finds a potential ally who is a monster. Do you sacrifice a ‘normal’ life to be with the one person who notices you?
It is packed with haunting imagery and an intense sense of dread, even when our killer is on the periphery he has the audience and the small town in the palm of his hand.
Piggy also shows the distinction between the cynical and at times nasty adults of this small community and its disgruntled teens, whose only outlet is hanging out at the local pool.
Weirdly, Piggy is heartfelt and asks the question can bullying result in violence once the victim starts to fight back?
Wholly original and clever with a razor-sharp script coupled with a stellar performance from Laura Galan as Sara.
Piggy is a must-see.
Piggy plays as part of Grimmfest 2022.
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