Squeal (2008) Movie Review

Squeal, 2008

Tubi, Widescreen

You can certainly date a movie by the cell phones used in it.  I suppose that might be harder now, since cell phone design has somewhat stabilized on the flat-screen one-piece rectangle.  But anytime a flip phone is involved, you know the era you’re watching.  Such is the case in “Squeal”… a classic tale of “clueless youngsters get stuck on a lonely road with mutant hillbillies”.   Only this time, the naive victims happen to be a touring rock band.  Not an entirely original premise, if we’re being honest.  

Early on, there’s an unmistakable “Deliverance” vibe going on.  Of course, with a movie title like “Squeal”, that should probably be expected.   The movie synopsis promises pig people, so hopefully this isn’t somehow a let-down.

Not as much “music” as there should be in a movie about a band.  And when there is, it’s fairly uninteresting alt-rock.  Not even that “indie” sounding… I suppose it could be worse.  The music placements aren’t terrible, but there could have been a lot better use of music to set the mood.

The cinematography isn’t exactly the best.  While movie is well lit, the outdoor scenes (set on a gloomy winter day) are a bit washed out and overly de-saturated. 

All the staples are here;  Obligatory warning at gas station, getting help after a breakdown on the highway, etc.  There are in fact pig people.  But are they actually pig-humans, or just psychos wearing pig masks?   Just my opinion… one of those ideas is awesome, and the other is hugely disappointing. 

Not a whole lot of character development.  The gore is… appreciated, but maybe not as intense as the film makers could have gone.   Another missed opportunity;  Boobies.  There are a lot of places boobies could have been used/inserted in this film, and they never make an appearance. 

This film isn’t the worst by any means, but could definitely benefit from a bit “more” from the antagonists.  Like, give us a bit more creepiness.  Give us a reason to REALLY fear these creeps.  For instance, there’s a scene where one of the band members gets knocked out when he gets gently shaken during a fight.  I had to rewind and watch this a second time, because it was just so poorly choreographed. The gore that happens immediately afterwards is not shown, and could have added much more fear and realism to the “stakes”.  Instead, that opportunity is traded for an ineffective jump scare.  Similarly, the killing scenes in general tend to be more “actiony” and don’t really deliver the creeps.  Perhaps there was more that was edited out?

In all, the main action/murder sequence that occurs in the middle of the film is not entirely bad.  It’s appreciated for what it gets right:  It’s violent, with decent production values, well edited, and does deliver some blood.  However, it just doesn’t quite live up to it’s potential.  Even as an action-oriented horror scene, it’s a bit… underwhelming.  The blood and hits that do get frames on screen are good, but not quite enough.  

Some Fender Stratocaster-Fu.  If it weren’t for that, I might have forgotten I was watching a “band” movie.  The second and third acts sort of blend into each other as one long action sequence.  This isn’t bad for the pacing, and truthfully the movie improves in the third.  

The horror quotient is definitely raised with an attempted rape, and then with a “discovery” made in what appears to be a research lab.  

I don’t want to spoil the movie any more than I have.  Probably worth watching if you’re a huge fan of the “Texas Chainsaw” stylistic sub-genre, and even then maybe only if you REALLY like that premise.  Not at all a terrible film… there are certainly much worse.   The ending is a little… interesting.  Still, I feel it could have been tweaked or done different to better effect.  Nice attempt overall, but it somehow repeatedly misses the mark.  

2.5/5