Monkeypaw presents The Pigs Underneath (plus Q+A), Dir. Charlie Dennis, mac Birmingham (UK Premier), Friday 31st October, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: Dan Auluk.

Photo Credit: Dan Auluk.

Monkeypaw presents The Pigs Underneath (plus Q+A), Dir. Charlie Dennis, mac Birmingham (UK Premier), Friday 31st October,

4☆☆☆☆. Review: Dan Auluk.

“A brutal and disturbing vision of the future of how communities survive.”

The Pigs Underneath, is one of five short films produced for Monkeypaw Productions and Toronto International Film Festival’s for the inaugural No Drama Initiative, which looked for worldwide directors and stories that mattered. Congrats to Charlie Dennis, from the West Midlands, for being selected as one of five film directors. They were all asked “What’s your biggest fear? What monsters lurk in the deepest corners of your inner thoughts?” 

The Pigs Underneath, a UK premier at mac Birmingham, is a dystopian, sci-fi horror story of impoverished residents surviving an unseen entity, or system of control, who are forced to meet a brutal quota to stay alive. The short film is shot in Druid’s Heath, Birmingham, who we are told by Dennis in the Q+A, coincidentally was also going through a housing regeneration project, with significant opposition from the community living there.

The Pigs Underneath is an intriguing allegorical tale that is about how we survive as a community and how trust starts to dismantle when desperation enters our lives fed by  an external force; told thorough the lens of drama, sci-fi horror. The directing and storytelling are clear, fresh and engaging all the way through and certainly leaves you hungry for more.

I was impressed at the cinematic scale of this short film, and certainly this has the strength to become an intense feature film with greater depth, full of family connection, community struggle; set within a sci-fi horror genre; disturbing it will be. Good to hear Dennis is working towards making this a feature film. I’m excited to see what happens next.

The lead actors (Josh Tedeku, Vinette Robinson and Rochenda Sandall) were at the top of their game; authentic multi-layered characters driving the story forwards through strong performances; natural, nuanced, subtle and intense acting. Raw and heartfelt. Also, good to see actors playing roles that they can inhabit, away from the stereotypical limitations we see time and time again.

The spectacle of cinematography gives rise to a bigger world and a slice of a disturbing future, and the story is a reminder that this is happening now. Perhaps a visual connection around what is happening around this world might have given it more expanse? Nevertheless, this is a focused short film, teasing you to ask more questions about what the hell is going on! So, bravo to the creative team behind the ambition of visuals, sound and cinematography.  The editing was fluid and gathers momentum when needed and each cut captures the softness and intensity in emotions.

The 12 minutes of film flew by and before you know it was over, and you are left with this cliffhanger disturbing end scene. Perhaps don’t watch this on a full stomach of food or whilst you are eating!

This felt like a project where stories matter, to show the underrepresented in society. Good to hear from the producers in the Q+A (SENTI films and LOWKEY) giving an inspiring talk around how working with Dennis, the actors and the rest of the crew, was a labour of hard work and love; and to show the stories from filmmakers, actors and creative teams born and raised in Birmingham. Time to put Birmingham on the global cinematic scale.

Cast

Josh Tedeku

Vinette Robinson

Rochenda Sandall Connor

Wulfric Craig Binning Beth Fitzgerald

Crew

Director- Charlie Dennis

Producers - Rem Conway Jamie Gamache Ayan Nur-Bramwell Connor O'Hara

Writer - Charlie Dennis

Casting - Kharmel Cochrane

Editor - Charlie Dennis

Cinematography - David Pimm

Exec Producers - Jordan Peele Win Rosenfeld Keisha Senter Dana Gills Kesila Childers Whitney S. Fuller

Stunts - Dan 'DJ' Johnson

Composer - Joy Ngiaw

Sound - Mathew Knights

Costume Design - Vikki Jones