Stars: Nathan Jones, Tara Reid, Kane Hodder, Bill Moseley, Allira Jaques, Genna Chanelle Hayes, Dean Kirkright, Madeleine Kennedy, Lindsay Edgecomb, Sam Coward, Trudi Ross, Justin Gerardin, Cameron Caulfield | Written and Directed by Chris Sun
Sometimes, as a horror fan, you want to watch a movie that will scare you, sometimes one that will ask questions of you, and sometimes even make you think. But then there are those times when you want an old-school, gory, slasher movie with which you can just sit back and watch the blood and guts unfold. Literally.
Charlie’s Farm is one of those movies…
A weird family of inbred killers meet their fate at the hands of a lynch mob, tired of their murderous reign of terror. The angry crowd eliminates the menace, leaving only a strange little boy named Charlie. Fast-forward several decades and a couple of blokes keen for a weekend of thrills lure their girlfriends to what they believe is the deserted homestead of the aforementioned killer clan. The hijinks soon turn to horror when it becomes apparent that Charlie still resides at the farm, and that he’s a little boy no longer – in fact he is now a seven foot, three hundred and seventy five pound behemoth of psychopathic muscle!
In all honesty, up until last year I had never heard of film maker Chris Sun, however I began hearing internet rumblings around his film Daddy’s Little Girl upon its US release. Tracking down a copy I was blown away by the film and vowed to make Sun one of my must-see directors. And then came along Charlie’s Farm. A film so far removed from Daddy’s Little Girl that it had me worried for where Sun’s career was headed. I need not have worried.
Whereas Sun previous film took the tropes of a “Lifetime” TV movie and mixed in some over the top violence and gore, creating yet another genre-bending Ozploitation classic, Charlie’s Farm takes its cue from the much-maligned slasher genre and the cliches of hulking, unstoppable killer and nubile teens getting slaughtered. Only unlike many a modern slasher there’s no harkening back to the old days, no over-reliance on referencing pervious genre films – even if one or two members of the cast have appeared in many a slasher film before this – no, with this film we have one of the purest examples of the genre in years.
Kicking off in gory style, Charlie’s Farm never really lets up. Much like the films of the slasher movies heyday, this is a powerhouse of gore that features some of the most innovative kills captured on screen since the early 80s, when filmmakers were still pushing the boundaries of what could be seen on screen, pre any MPAA crackdowns etc. Beheadings, eviseration, dismemberment and even a stomach-churning penis removal (shown in all its gory glory), this film has kills for every slasher fans predilection. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ve seen gore celebrated so much in a slasher movie since 1985′s The Mutilator.
Of course all good slashers need a decent story, no matter how small, on which to hang their tale and here again Charlie’s Farm succeeds. The idea of a child being left behind after the slaughter of his, admittedly insane, serial-killing parents; who then grows up to be a killer himself is simple yet very effective. And thanks to the performance of Nathan Jones (who also appears in the Mad Max blockbuster) as the titular character, there’s absolutely no reason to believe Charlie couldn’t survive anything – he is a pure killing machine, played in similar “killing machine” fashion as Kane Hodder’s take on the legendary Jason Vorhees. Speaking of which, its an awesome sight to see Charlie go head-to-head with “Jason” during the film!
If you like slasher movies then Charlie’s Farm will be your idea of movie heaven – an unmissable treat that should be a mainstay of any genre fans collection.
***** 5/5
Charlie’s Farm is out now on DVD from Monster Pictures.
