Butchers

Within the framework of the virtual edition of the British festival FrightFest we had the chance to discover before their diffusion many more or less successful genre films but each of them with obvious qualities and especially a real desire to propose despite reduced budgets films as original as they are confusing. In the case of the new film by director Adrian Langley (Donkey (2010), A violent state (2011), Crook (2013) and Gutshot (2017)) it is a violent thriller in the vein of Chainsaw Massacre but also Wrong turn (2003) which generated several sequels. Yet Butchers does not limit himself to proposing a rereading of this theme of a family of cannibalistic mental decerebrates, he benefits from a real aesthetic research and quality interpretations.

From the very first scenes of the film the action is set up. Following a car breakdown, four young people find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere. While one couple stays close to the car, the other is looking for help. They don't realize that they are being watched. The two groups find themselves captives of a family of sadistic butchers composed of three brothers with nauseating morals. One of them is imprisoned and behaves like a real monster at the crossroads of Leatherface and one of the members of the degenerate family of Wrong turn. These brothers keep their fresh meat tied up in their wooden outbuilding. The four friends have little time to escape before they are devoured.

While most horror films play up the gore and outrageous effects, Butchers takes a more psychological approach to the terror, relying in particular on actor Simon Phillips' forceful portrayal of one of the three cannibal brothers. The film's many successful dialogues give real depth to the main characters and allow Butchers to go beyond the framework of a simple, hand-crafted horror film.

Director Adrian Langley not only succeeds in holding our attention throughout the story, but above all in proposing a real plunge into the depths of hell for a journey with no return. He takes as much care of his script as he did co-writing it with Daniel Weissenberger and thus proposes multiple twists and turns that he takes care to propose an irreproachable image in order to allow a true immersion. Knowing perfectly how to make the spectators shiver, he delivers here his best film to date.

Butchers
Directed by Adrian Langley
Written by Adrian Langley, Daniel Weissenberger
Starring Simon Phillips, Michael Swatton, Julie Mainville, Anne-Carolyne Binette, James Hicks
Cinematography: Adrian Langley
Edited by Adrian Langley
Release date: October 23, 2020 (Frightfest)
Running time: 133 minutes

Seen on October 17, 2020 (Screener press)

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