An overweight teen is bullied by a clique of cool girls poolside while holidaying in her village. The long walk home will change the rest of her life.
From the marketing, many audiences will expect a different, meaner film than what “Piggy” turns out to be. It strangely shares a lot in common with the release of the similarly titled “Pig,” which appeared to promise a Nic Cage freakout but offered one of his best recent performances and melancholy meditation on loss. The poster – of the obese lead character Sara (Laura Galan) covered in copious amounts of blood – and the trailer both suggest a gritty revenge slasher in which the victims deserve every gory death. There’s no question that Maca (Claudia Salas), the queen of the popular girls and the lead bully in her small Spanish village, would meet a grisly end in that imagined film, which would get horror audiences cheering. In truth, the bully in you wants that film, and when a reasonable adult enters the conversation, “Piggy” takes you aside and gives you a stern talking to. But two films exist inside “Piggy,” one that O.G. slasher you want and one a deeply disturbing emotional nightmare.
The first half is that nightmare, as Sara is tormented daily by the popular clique. Just wanting to belong and against her better judgment, Sara still follows them all on Instagram, where they regularly post their abuse. It’s no better home or work in her father’s butcher shop, where her mother’s advice against bullying amounts to “Eat less.” Galan doesn’t have much dialogue; she’s relegated to responding to emotional violence for much of the film – and she’s exceptional at taking it. No matter the cruelty, her eyes carry some subtle grasp at dignity, as anyone would. It’s painfully honest and only intensifies as it gets physical when the girls nearly drown her in the village pool. While running home, she witnesses one of her bullies being kidnapped by a serial killer. It’s the old moral dilemma, to tell or not to tell, and Galan brings just the right balance of guilt and contempt.
Gorehounds may be understandably disappointed, as “Piggy” holds back on the violence, cutting to splashes of blood for many of its kills. Director Carlota Pereda focuses on emotional violence, and the bullying in the first act is intensely cruel. “Piggy” also mostly balances its two converging films, though it doesn’t spend much time with the film’s killer. He’s vague and relatively anonymous. Adding a backstory might have overcrowded an already excessive runtime, and Sara is the real story here. It’s a timely one well worth telling.
“Piggy” recently had its Québec Premiere at the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival
