‘Pigs eat anything… even evidence!’
Pigs is a 1973 American horror film written [as F.A. Ross], produced and directed by Marc Lawrence. produced and directed by Marc Lawrence from a screenplay co-written with his screenwriter wife Fanya Foss [they are collectively credited as F.A. Ross].
The movie has also been released as The Pigs, Blood Pen, Daddy’s Deadly Darling, Daddy’s Girl, Horror Farm, The 13th Pig, The Killer, The Killers. Roadside Torture Chamber, Lynn Hart; Love Exorcist, Lynn Hart: The Strange Exorcism of Lynn Hart; The Strange Love Exorcist; The Secret of Lynn Hart; The Strange Love Exorcist and possibly other titles too!
The movie stars Lawrence’s daughter Toni plus Jesse Vint and Catherine Ross. It features a score by Charles Bernstein (A Nightmare on Elm Street).
Lynn Webster (Toni Lawrence) is an escapee from a mental hospital who takes refuge in a local farm inhabited by Mr Zambrini and his pack of flesh-eating pigs. When Lynn starts killing people who remind her of her abusive father, Zambrini feeds the remains to his sadistic sows. However, law enforcement starts to catch up with the two of them…
Reviews:
“Pigs! is a movie with characters yelling about everything and being “on edge” for the whole short runtime. It is unbalanced, pretty uninspired, and not as much fun as it should have been. It was shot in eight days and it shows at points. You can’t predict where Pigs! will go and that is the movie’s saving grace…but it also curses the movie.” Basement Rejects
” …Pigs is a stilted weirdie with a clear disregard for normal execution. The camera movement is jagged, the soundtrack is often abrasive (random screeches from both humans and pigs), and the editing has a screw loose. Shots sometimes repeat themselves for anywhere from a split second to three. Visually, it’ll keep you guessing…” Bleeding Skull!
“Pigs isn’t a riveting feature, but it retains an appealing level of psychosis, aided by nursery rhyme-style scoring from Charles Bernstein, delivering plenty of la-la-las while Lawrence strives to generate some suspense. To help boost the film’s instability, there are a few Lynchian excursions into visual unrest, though there’s not nearly enough of these unnerving asides…” Blu-ray.com
” …sleazy unappetizing psychothriller focuses on disgusting elements.” John Stanley, Creature Features
“The story lacks consistency, but some eerie moments abound and there’s a bit of gore on display, with close-ups of the noisy pigs supposedly eating human flesh, a violent nightmare sequence and some last-minute glimpses of dismemberment.” DVD Drive-In
“Sure, there is some hog horror to be found, but it’s more a side dish than meaty main course. Ms Batsh*t and her equally unhinged “friend” are the true stars of this incredibly strange slice of early 70s cinema.” DVD Talk
” …if you go in expecting killer pig action, you probably won’t enjoy it. If you go in expecting a strange little movie about a woman with some pretty severe issues towards men, then I think you will enjoy it. It’s not the best film of its type, but its a minor gem all the same.” Horror Movie a Day
“Pigs, a love story in case you’re wondering, is a marvellously strange and absorbing film […] Alright, so there’s little in the way of action, but the absence of a forward-driving narrative is an essential part of the fun: Pigs doesn’t fly; it floats. There’s a muted psychedelic feel to the film – you feel kind of stoned watching it…” Steve Thrower, Nightmare USA
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“There are some eerie moments here, mostly when the lights go down and the Pigs, ravenously hungry, start to squeal for the meat they know is coming their way. Morbid? Yep. And while the film wears its flaws as obviously on its sleeve as it does its low-budget origins, there’s still plenty of weird seventies entertainment value to be had here.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Surprisingly well done low budgeter benefits strongly from good performances by both Lawrences and nicely-conceived atmospherics.” The Terror Trap
“Taken on its own merits, it’s certainly a notch or two above most exploitation fare, and twisted enough in and of itself to maintain one’s prurient interest from start to finish, but when one keeps the backstory of its production in mind, it really rises above the level of above-average B-movie fare and into the sphere of disturbed — and disturbing — private psychodrama writ large before the public.” Trash Film Guru
YouTube reviews:
Trailer:
Watch the amazing Love Exorcist trailer on YouTube
Charles Bernstein’s soundtrack score:
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Pigs was released in the US by Vinegar Syndrome as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on March 29, 2016. The film was restored in 2K and features reversible cover art by Chris Garofalo.
Special features:
Audio interview with cinematographer Glenn Roland
Featurette with actress Toni Lawrence
Featurette with composer Charles Bernstein
Two alternate opening sequences
Alternate ending sequence
Trailers
On October 9, 2017, 88 Films released Pigs on Blu-ray in the UK.
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.co.uk
Production and release:
According to the American Film Institute, “a Hollywood Reporter news item dated March 9, 1973, referred to the picture by its working title, Pigs, announced that writer-director-producer-actor Marc Lawrence mortgaged his own home to finance most of the production’s $250,000 budget and the film was recently completed. On 14 May 1973, HR announced that Classic Films had purchased distribution rights to the picture and a premiere was scheduled for 23 May 1973 in Detroit, MI.
A 12 November 1984 review of the film’s re-release with the title Daddy’s Deadly Darling noted that the production was filmed in 1972 and was formerly known as Daddy’s Girl.
Cast and characters:
Toni Lawrence … Lynn Hart
Jesse Vint … Sheriff Dan Cole
Catherine Ross … Miss Macy
Paul Hickey … Ben Sharp
Iris Korn … Annette
Walter Barnes … Doctor
Erik Holland … Hoagy
William Michael … Deputy
Jim Antonio … Jess Winter, Man from Hospital
Bone Adams … Truck Farmer
Larry Hussmann … Gas Attendant
Don Skylar … Oil Worker
Marc Lawrence … Zambrini
Filming locations:
Camarillo, California
