WFG RATING: A

Breaking Glass Pictures and Thunder Mountain Films presents a Dull Knife/Spicy Ramen production. Directed and produced by William Instone and Matt Rifley. Written by William Instone and Renfield Rasputin. Cinematography by Tori Rice, Matt Rifley, and Anton Savenko. Edited by William Instone.

Stars Santiago Sky, L.C. Holt, Dakota Millett, Johnny Huang, Paige Steakley, Kayla Anderson, Samantha Holland, Michael Fischer, Brinke Stevens, Paul T. Taylor, Bill Oberst Jr., Bill Johnson, with Jeremy London, and William Instone. 

A group of budding filmmakers search for a legend and get a lot more than they bargain for in this throwback to classic slashers with modern influences. 

Many years ago, a legend had emerged in the small town of Emerald Falls, Texas. A 12-year-old child named Alex Grimly had murdered three teens and was sent to a mental institution. However, two years later, he had escaped and reports of numerous murders have plagued Emerald Falls. A group of college students in film school decide to make the legend their thesis and despite a few reservations, they head to the town with some friends.

As they enter town, they learn about the legend of the Hogman, as Alex Grimly is now called as a result of his wearing a pig mask the day he committed the first wave of murders. He hides out in an area called Butchers Bluff just outside the town. Despite warnings from the sheriff, the group decides to go to Butchers Bluff and see if the legend is real. They soon learn that the legend is real and now, it becomes a fight for survival.

This horror film is set to be a modern cult classic as it is inspired by three of the greatest slashers of our time: Friday the 13th, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Halloween. However, writers William Instone (who also co-directs) and Renfield Rasputin added influences from modern horror classics like Scream, The Blair Witch Project, and Hatchet to name a few to come up with an excellent story of a legend who became so because of an epidemic that happens even in today’s society: bullying.

Co-director Instone also scores the role of the Hogman, Alex Grimly, as he slices and dices his way through a group of budding filmmakers and their friends who invade his turf. What is interesting here is that the group of potential victims are both a mix of tropey characters and not so tropey characters. In a nod to the aforementioned Scream, we see Jeremy London go the Drew Barrymore route as he appears in the film’s opening, set a few years before the present day, falling prey to the Hogman. There are also great performances from the likes of genre veterans Brinke Stevens, Bill Johnson, and Bill Oberst Jr. as well as Paul T. Taylor as the sheriff of the town. 

Kudos must go out to Jenna Green for her amazing practical effects on the kill scenes. With assistance from Instone himself as well as the legendary Joe Castro, Green perfected the kills from the Hogman, showing that a killer of legend doesn’t have to be supernatural but can be brutal as he intends for his victims to feel the pain he felt when he was bullied at a young age. The bullying, seen in a flashback and has an excellent performance by the young actor playing young Alex, becomes the trigger for the birth of the Hogman. 

Butchers Bluff is sure to whet horror fans’ appetites as it is a love letter to the slasher genre. A great story mixed in with some pretty good (even if tropey) performances from the young cast and the genre vets and the awesome kills make this an instant cult classic!

The film will be released On Demand and Digital on March 11.