Donkey Punch
June 10th 2008 01:50
Three spunky girls from Leeds, England, are holidaying (read: partaying) in sun-bleached Mallorca, Spain. Lisa (Sian Breckin) and Kim (Jaime Winstone, daughter of Ray) are keen for their friend Tammi (Nicola Burley) to forget her recent break-up, so they can all let their hair down (and their bikinis to follow!). At a bar they meet three likely lads; matinee idol Josh (Julian Morris), sleazy DJ Bluey (Tom Burke), and newbie Marcus (Jay Taylor).
Party posse
Sian Breckin as Lisa and Julian Morris as Josh
Jaime Winstone as Kim
Marcus crashes the party to watch his mates getting’ it on, and armed with a small camcorder he begins videotaping. Whilst the drug-taking sequence was both crucial and authentically captured, the protracted sex scene seems oddly gratuitous. It’s certainly more candid than a lot of Brit flicks, and probably more lingering than the American remake will be, but it seemed like unnecessary padding.
Nicola Burely as Tammi, armed and dangerous
It’s taken a while to get to this point, but from here on in things start getting messier and messier. Night has fallen, and the dream party has turned very sour indeed. Tammi is led to believe Lisa has overdosed, but Kim, although engrossed in sex with Josh, heard otherwise. The boys quickly decide Lisa’s body has to be dumped, otherwise everyone goes down. Strangers, hard drugs, loose sex, a videotape; it’s not a reliable recipe.
Director Oliver Blackburn’s first feature (background in music clips) is very competently made, and he ratchets up the tension in the second half swiftly and strongly, but although the audicence feel for the girl’s nightmare predicament, there’s a little of “don’t say we didn’t warn you” floating around. After all the lads become united in dumping Lisa’s body, they become indistinguishable. All of them should get their just desserts, and in true horror style, they do.
Jay Taylor as Marcus, armed and dangerous
How the boys turn into such cowardly, treacherous rogues I found too contrived for the purposes of the movie’s narrative arc, especially young Marcus who showed no sign of his sociopathic nature at all in the movie’s first half. However I have to admit his torturous handling of injured Bluey was one of the movie’s horror highlights.
Anxious Kim at the cruiser's controls
Donkey Punch is not as scary as the excellent Dead Calm (1990), but not as languid as Polanski’s artful Knife in the Water (1965). It is viscerally intense in places, and unusually sexy and hedonistic, despite its tragic unfolding, but if you’re after a serious UK horror flick The Descent (2006) is far scarier, more stylish and ultimately more memorable. With my tongue lodged in cheek, Donkey Punch is more an extreme bloody version of trash series Girls Gone Wild. And where was the yacht rock?!
And a donkey punch, is there really such a thing?! For women's sake, I surely hope it's only fictional slang ...
Here's a low-rez trailer:
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Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
so, a recommend? Sounds like you found it a little meh...
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Sorry, could not help it.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Damo, yeah, what's that awful execution style death pirates would give prisoners? Quay-hauling?