Sweatshop Review

Sweatshop review

The premise for this movie makes you think immediately of ‘Return of The living Dead’. But rest assured this is not just another movie off the slasher movie production line. A young, somewhat clichéd ensemble break into an old warehouse in preparation for a rave they are holding later on that night. While setting up, these young and sexually frustrated and shitfaced youths can’t wait for the later events, so start their own party.

Once a few drinks have been downed, there is much sexual activity, dancing and arguing, a typical teenage get together in other words. Unbeknown to the guys, the girls have a hidden agenda, but never fear slasher fans; this does not take over the movie. The fun starts when a kid simply known as the Beast comes to the fore, and boy does he have fun.

Over the years, killers have come in various guises, and they all have their own reasons for being the way they are and why they are wreaking such havoc. It’s hard to remember a serial slasher who is as evil and destructive for the hell of it as this kid; if Michael Myers came up against The Beast he would remove his mask and quietly retire to Hawaii to live in anonymity.

The filling rattling, jaw dropping gore fest that follows makes you actually feel sorry for the popular self-satisfied kids who meet their grisly demise. Newcomer Ashley Kay plays Charlie, an unsuspecting kid who can’t wait to go to this party with her friends, obviously unaware that a helluva lot more will go into the warehouse than will come out. According to these film makers, the perfect ingredients for a rave are sex, lots of lesbians and a lean mean killing machine.

As far as analysis goes, there is little here to really bother with. Sweatshop is what it is and does exactly what it says on the tin. There is death, there is blood, there are screams, there are shocks, and there are some pretty dumb camera shots that make The Beast look 7st tall and 500 lbs. Now surely somebody that size would stand out in a crowd somewhat, but apparently not in this case.

He has the statutory mask, and his weapon of choice just happens to be a self-machined and crafted anvil, an appropriately evil looking piece of kit that effectively crushes people’s skulls as if they were bugs. Quite why he is so pissed off with everybody is never fully explained, leaving the audience to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together. The problem with this is that you never know if you were right or wrong.

So, is Sweatshop worth leaving the house on a Friday night and taking the trip to the theater? Well yes it is actually. There are flaws aplenty, the expendable characters are obvious the minute they are introduced and the first 30 minutes or so feels like an hour, but get past that and you have a slasher’s dream.