1.5 out of 5 stars (one of the worst I’ve seen)
Thank you to KVT Productions for reaching out to me for this review. Though this review is negative, I wish the filmmakers the best in their future endeavors.
In 2004, an indie horror film called Saw took the world by storm. It was a low-budget but twisty and well-acted mystery with just enough gore to satisfy those looking for that. Its sequels gradually became more gore-focused and were more narratively overcomplicated than Days of Our Lives, inspiring many copycats. I’m sad to say that Body Farm falls into that copycategory, containing enjoyable gore and passable acting, but nothing much else.
Videographers Ashton (Nicholas Lamantia), Erik (Brandon Keenan), and Zack (Brett Hollabaugh) are told to meet coworker Justyne (Geneviere Weiss) at a body farm, a place where dead bodies are studied by medical scientists. As Justyne is Erik’s girlfriend and she has only answered his texts vaguely, he thinks something is askew. This feeling increases when the guards and doctors act suspiciously and Justyne is nowhere to be found, leading them to discover some sinister goings-on. Mwahahahaha.
I’ll pay Body Farm its due compliments: The gore effects are appropriately stomach-churning, the acting is passable, and it’s decently shot. Unfortunately, the film is otherwise a carbon copy of the Saw sequels, from its “edgy” music video-style editing during kill sequences to its crutch-like reliance on shock value jump scares to its ridiculous ending twist. While I’m not personally a fan of the Saw sequels, I know people who are and may enjoy Body Farm for the blood and guts. Lamantia and Keenan were heavily involved across multiple aspects of the production and have shown they can use a small budget well with this. Here’s hoping their next collaboration has a better script. Pass this Body Farm.
Likely Rated R for Gory Violence and Images, and For Language