Black Sheep (2006/I)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Jonathan King

Writer:

Jonathan King (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2007 (New Zealand)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Get ready for the Violence of the Lambs!

Plot:

An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm. |

Plot Keywords:

New Zealand | Genetic Engineering | Sheep | Farm | Explosion

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Matthew Chamberlain	...	Oliver Oldfield (as Matt Chamberlain)
Nick Fenton	...	Young Henry
Sam Clarke	...	Young Tucker
Eli Kent	...	Young Angus
Nathan Meister	...	Henry Oldfield
Nick Blake	...	Taxi Driver
Oliver Driver	...	Grant
Danielle Mason	...	Experience
Peter Feeney	...	Angus Oldfield
Glenis Levestam	...	Mrs. Mac
Richard Chapman	...	Muldoon
Louis Sutherland	...	Winston
Tammy Davis	...	Tucker
Tandi Wright	...	Doctor Rush
Ian Harcourt	...	Brash
James Ashcroft	...	Prebble
Mick Rose	...	Mike
Kevin McTurk	...	Weresheep
Lucy Briant	...	Investor
Justin B. Carter	...	Investor (as Justin Carter)
Deana Elvins	...	Investor
Luke Hawker	...	Investor
Jono Manks	...	Investor (as Jono Marks)
Lewis Rowe	...	Investor
Peter Rutherford	...	Investor
Matthew Saville	...	Investor
Richard Whiteside	...	Investor
Min Windle	...	Investor
Tim Wong	...	Investor

Directed by
Jonathan King

Writing credits
Jonathan King		(written by)

Produced by
Philippa Campbell	....	producer
Judith Trye	....	line producer

Original Music by
Victoria Kelly

Cinematography by
Richard Bluck

Film Editing by
Chris Plummer

Casting by
Liz Mullane

Production Design by
Kim Sinclair

Art Direction by
Simon Bright

Set Decoration by
Tanea Chapman

Costume Design by
Pauline Bowkett

Makeup Department
Debra Ashton	....	additional makeup artist
Hayley Atherton	....	makeup assistant
Debra East	....	makeup supervisor
Davina Lamont	....	special makeup effects artist
Samantha Lyttle	....	special makeup effects technician
Angela Mooar	....	additional makeup artist
Jess Reedy	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Rosemary Dority	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah Lowe	....	second assistant director
Joe Nolan	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Brett Blenkin	....	carpenter
Vanessa Cole	....	assistant art director
Neil Kirkland	....	construction manager
Alastair Maher	....	head scenic
Eileen McCann	....	set finisher
Francie McGirr	....	art runner
Nick Riera	....	on-set carpenter
Sarah Weinberg	....	stand-by props
Gillian West-Walker	....	set dresser
Ben Whale	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Phil Burton	....	temp mixer
Gethin Creagh	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chris Hiles	....	sound recordist
Gilbert Lake	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matthew Lambourn	....	sound effects editor
Robyn McFarlane	....	foley recordist
Carolyn McLaughlin	....	foley artist
Tim Prebble	....	sound designer
Sam Spicer	....	boom operator
Chris Todd	....	dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Steven Boyle	....	special effects makeup artist
Marion Davey	....	creature effects coordinator: Weta Workshop
Chris Guise	....	designer
Iain Hutton	....	armourer
Iain Hutton	....	special effects technician
Phil McLaren	....	special effects supervisor
Gayle Munro	....	production manager: Weta Workshop
Richard Taylor	....	special effects
Paul Tobin	....	designer

Visual Effects by
Dan Ashton	....	scanning and recording technician: Weta Digital
Nick Booth	....	scanning and recording supervisor: Weta Digital
David Hampton	....	scanning and recording technician: Weta Digital
George Port	....	visual effects supervisor: PRPVFX
Abigail Scollay	....	digital compositor
Pete Williams	....	scanning and recording manager: Weta Digital
Carol Petrie	....	visual effects artist: PRPVFX Limited (uncredited)
George Ritchie	....	visual effects artist: PRPVFX Limited (uncredited)

Stunts
Justin B. Carter	....	stunts
Augie Davis	....	stunt coordinator
Winham Hammond	....	stunts
Tim McLachlan	....	stunt double
Tim Wong	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Tim Wong	....	fight coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
David Brown	....	gaffer
Jamie Couper	....	lighting technician
Dion Hartley	....	key grip
Garth Michael	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chantelle Bowkett	....	costume assistant
Pauline Laws	....	head pattern maker

Editorial Department
Clare Burlinson	....	digital intermediate colorist
David Hollingsworth	....	telecine colorist
Shanon Moratti	....	digital intermediate editor
Nicola Spencer	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Anne Chamberlain	....	unit publicist
James Delaney	....	animal trainer
Caroline Girdlestone	....	animal trainer
Thea Govorko	....	production secretary
Matthew Grainger	....	script consultant
Veronique Lawrence	....	script supervisor
Andy Wickens	....	lab liaison
Brigitte Yorke	....	production coordinator

Thanks
Peter Jackson	....	thanks
Terry Rossio	....	thanks
Jamie Selkirk	....	thanks
Michael Stephens	....	thanks

Production Companies

• New Zealand Film Commission (presents)
• New Zealand On Air (as NZ On Air) (in association with)
• Daesung Group, The (in association with)
• Escapade Pictures
• Live Stock Films (uncredited)
• Singlet Films

Distributors

• New Zealand Film Commission (2007) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Australasian Film Ltd. (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Brunbro Entertainment Group (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Focus Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Manga Films (2007) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Pachamama Cine (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Parkit Films (2007) (Indonesia) (theatrical)
• Prime Pictures (2007) (Lebanon) (theatrical)
• Ram Indo (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Acteurs Auteurs Associés (AAA) (2007) (France) (all media)
• Argentina Video Home (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Ascot Elite Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Dimension Extreme (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Genius Products (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• IFC First Take (2007) (USA) (video) (video-on-demand)
• Icon Home Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Icon Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Midget Entertainment (2008) (Denmark) (all media)
• Weinstein Company, The (2007) (USA) (all media)

Special Effects

• Weta Workshop (creature and make-up effects)

Other Companies

• Cinetic Media  sales
• Park Road Post  post-production facilities

Runtime:

USA:87 min | Argentina:87 min | Canada:87 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 | Australia:MA | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Ireland:15A | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Germany:18 | Germany:16 (cut) | USA:Unrated | Argentina:16 | Denmark:15 | Netherlands:16 | Peru:14 | USA:TV-MA (Cinemax) | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Italy:VM18 (cinema rating)

Filming Locations:

Wairarapa, New Zealand

Company:

New Zealand Film Commission

Trivia:

Just before Mike (Mick Rose) is attacked by a killer sheep, he is seen reading "The Penguin History of New Zealand", a well known book written by the late Dr Michael King, the father of _Black Sheep_ director Jonathan King.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the line 'Now get the fuck off my land' is delivered, it is unsynced.

Quotes:

Henry: Are you OK?
Experience: I won't be OK ever again.

Movie Connections:

References Braindead (1992)

A Nutshell Review: Black Sheep

I haven't the opportunity to follow many New Zealand movies, besides the recent memory of Sione's Wedding and In My Father's Den, both of which were of different genres, and mighty enjoyable. Written and directed by Jonathan King (who is also writing the Raintree produced movie The Tattooist), Black Sheep takes the well-established genre of zombie movies, and with its fusion of local flavour, presents its own worthy take in giving us the attack of the killer sheep.

Meh!

It's a crazy idea, but heck, I admit it was sheer wicked and twisted fun watching the usually docile (and may I say dumb?) animals turn the tables on us humans, and start going on a berserk rampage to munch on our flesh. Watching them hunt in packs was surreal, and happens to be one of the nightmares of Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister), who develops a phobia of our woolly friends after his brother Angus (Peter Feeney) played a cruel joke on him. The film fast forwards to the adult brothers, where the latter is planning to unveil his new "perfect" Oldfield sheep, and selling off the farm - why need the space when you can genetically engineer them?

Before you say, oh this is yet another movie which warns about the dangers and questions the ethics behind tinkering with genetics, you would probably think again when it made the environmental activists folks look like social outcasts, and totally bumbling, indirectly contributing to the zombie sheep phenomenon. I liked how the problem became two- pronged, in that the sheep became infected of course, and how its bite is now its worst weapon. And I'd bet you'll never look at another sheep, especially the baby ones, in the same light again, ha!

The plot's fairly straightforward to follow, with its villains (the scientists and of course, the raging sheep) and its heroes clearly spelt out - Henry, his farm hand Tucker (Tammy Davis), housekeeper Mrs Mac (Glenis Levestam), and an activist with an interest in Asian fengshui and zen sayings, called, check this out - Experience (Danielle Mason), who together actually form quite a lovable team whom you'll root for to get out of this mess.

With the animatronics and special effects done by Weta Workshop, you can expect some top notch gore, though I thought that despite it being a zombie flick, it lacked copious amounts of blood splatter. Chewing raw flesh may be stomach curling, especially when the details of such dastardly deeds are not spared, and the camera lingers. Transformational scenes were also fun yet eerie to watch, and if you think you've seen the best of these scenes from various werewolf movies, wait till you get a load from this one!

Black Sheep makes no apology to its violence, sexual innuendoes or toilet humour. In fact, it celebrates them, to tragic-comedic effect. However it knew how to rein itself in, and the farting-sheep-shagging jokes never goes into overdrive. The acts of violence too had a fair share left to the imagination, though I thought there probably was some scrimping in expected chase and attack sequences. If you're in for some light entertainment, then Black Sheep is probaaably your wicked choice for the week.