Long Pigs – 2007

Long Pigs is a movie like no other, at least I haven’t seen anything like it before. It has the form of a found footage flick, although you kind of have your doubts about the found part all the way through the movie. Let’s call it a documentary style film instead. In short we follow these two filmmakers doing a documentary about a serial killing cannibal. Yeah, macabre I know.

But the most scary part isn’t actually the cannibalism. Long Pigs also has a lot to say apart from the revolting subject, or perhaps connected to the very same subject. There are several aspects. First off we get to follow this cannibalistic killer around. It seems like he’s not in it for the thrill of the killing, it’s just the flesh that he’s after. He needs a certain type of body for a certain cuisine. Just like you would need a certain part of the pig or the cow to create a specific dish.

But there’s also the part where we get to follow a radio show host digging into the case of missing men and women and what possible could have happened to them. Furthermore, there are segments where police are interviewed and also a serial killer expert.

All this is weaved together in the final film which suååosedly is the existing footage of the documentary that was filmed. In other words, the documentary filmmakers have gone to great lengths to create something really that feels very complete from a documentary narrative perspective.

So, as a documentary it’s totally believable. Although there are some questionable aspects of it as well. And I’m using questionable in the most diplomatic ways here. Think about it, If you were to make a documentary about a subject that is surrounded by as much taboo as cannibalism would you really want you really want your name attached to it when there’s actual footage of maiming and killing in there too?

So, if the cannibalistic serial killing weren’t enough, the filmmakers certainly made themselves accomplices to the crime by filming and even taking part in the activities. That’e even more scary, that there might be people out there ready to do almost everything, including covering up murder to make a profit from it. Plus, who are they actually going to show it to? As soon as it goes public all of them should be arrested and sentenced to prison at the very least.

But there’s also some moral questions asked in this movie, and I don’t mean the documentary in the movie but the movie itself. Why is it considered totally acceptable to kill and eat a pig, a chicken or a cow, but not a cat or a dog? I realised that this might differ around the world due to cultural differences but that’s certainly how it is in our western civilization! 

There are some clever comparisons to the meat industry with what this cannibal is doing. He’s never portrayed as a monster, and never has any sexual frustration to be manifested through his actions. He’s just an ordinary person who happens to love the taste of human flesh. I think they go to lengths to normalize him. I think that creates a contrast between the forbidden actions and the presumed image we have about an individual able to carry out those urges.

Apart from the philosophical aspect though, the acting is very good. I believe that this is for real. Of course, I know it isn’t but there’s really nothing that indicates that for me in the acting or the gore in the movie, which is also really top notch! It’s not over the top and never gets spattery, it’s no entertainment violence. It all seems to be real, from the actual killings to the slaughter and even cooking of the meat.

I think that the most revolting part lies in the ruthlessness the filmmakers act to get the movie they want though. They don’t stop at anything. They explore the killings, the cooking, the carving. Interviewing relatives to the killer’s victims with him present as a sound guy and even disrespecting the killer’s mourning process when he needs some time without the camera.

This brings us to the end. We understand why the radio host talks about the case throughout the movie. And when you think it’s over, it’s really not. There is still footage after the credits have started. There are captions of what happened to people in the picture in the aftermath. You could say that karma caught up with some of them and you might feel that to be a little satisfactory. But just as the film itself steers up a lot of emotions, so do the end scenes. Is justice really served?

This one affected me deeply!