Black Sheep (Cert 18) DVD Review

1:15pm Friday 30th May 2008

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IF YOU have ovinophobia' - the irrational fear of sheep - New Zealand is probably best avoided.

Boasting 40 million clovenhoofed inhabitants compared to only four million people, the island is the perfect setting for this horror/comedy tagged the Violence of the Lambs'.

Farmboy Henry Oldfield appears to have no problem rounding up sheep with his father and best friend Tucker in an idyllic countryside setting.

But things take a macabre twist when his older brother Angus uses Henry's pet sheep for a fiendish prank - scarring his brother who leaves for the city.

Fifteen years later, with daddy dead, evil Angus has begun controversial genetic experiements to breed a new sheep, The Oldfield.

And when Henry returns to sell his share in the farm a pair of animal rights activists, Grant and Experience, unleash the grisly secret of his research laboratory.

Essentially a classic zombie flick, writer and director Jonathan King's effort is not as funny as Simon Pegg's Shaun of the Dead nor well acted.

Nevertheless it's brilliant fun because it's infinitely scarier, with jumps in all the right places and outlandish levels of gore.

Shunning CGI wizardry, the blood spattered special effects and mutant sheep creations are simply superb, and full credit must go to Weta Workshops, the same crew who tackled the Lord of the Rings trilogy.