Chop
Year: 2011
Director: Trent Haaga
Stars: Billy Bakshi, Timothy Muskatell, Elina Madison
Studio: Bloody Disgusting Selects
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 84 Mins
Plot Synopsis:
Bloody Disgusting Selects has been one of the bright spots for horror in 2011. They wrap up a very good first year with the horror/comedy “Chop, which is directed by cult film actor Trent Haaga.
The film follows Lance Reed, an innocent man who’s car brakes down in the middle of nowhere. He meets a stranger that gives him a ride, but the stranger has plans for him. The stranger is seeking vengeance for something that happened in the past, by making Lance confront his past and making him suffer in the process. As Lance begins to lose various body parts, his past begins to haunt him. The only way out for Lance is to remember what he did to the stranger before losing all of his body parts.
Film Review:
“Chop” is another really good horror film from Bloody Disgusting Selects. One of the things that makes this film entertaining was Trent Haaga’s direction. What makes his direction very good, the fact that he allows the film to move at a fast pace. He does that, by taking a stylish approach with the material. It allows the film to move at a good pace, while not being bogged down with boring and uninteresting scenes. The scenes were not repetitive and it allows you focus on the two main characters. It also helped that Haaga comes from an acting background, because he does a great job getting the performances that he needs to make the back and forth between Lance and the stranger interesting and grabs your attention. That was important, as the two are on screen together for most of the film. Haaga also does a very good job getting each of the main character’s quirks down. By doing that, it makes the main characters interesting and pays off especially towards the end of the film.
The film’s screenplay was ironically not written by Haaga. It was written by Adam Minarovich, who played the abusive husband Ed on the first season of “The Walking Dead” and also has a small role in this film as one of the detectives. This was a very good screenplay, as it keeps you guessing on the extent of the relationship between Lance and the stranger. One of the things that I liked about it, he slowly develops the back-story of Lance during the course of the film. It allows you to keep guessing to the relationship between the two main characters. The other thing that I liked about this, the fact that the dark humor works well. It provides a few laughs, but importantly sets up the main character, as an oddball of a character. That helps especially that most of the action takes place in one room. Overall, a very good story to go along with good direction.
DVD Extras:
Sadly there isn’t much in the way of extras. First, you have four minutes of outtakes, then a couple of deleted and extended scenes. That’s it, as this disc is lacking an audio commentary track and/or a behind the scenes featurette.
Final Summary:
Fans of Trent Haaga will definitely enjoy this film. “Chop” is a very entertaining film that has shocking moments, while keeping your interest with a very good story throughout. My only complaint with this disc, it lacked behind the scenes extras.
Film Review: Five Stars
DVD Extras: One Star
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