Worth: $12.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Chantelle Han, Charles Boyland, Michael Copeman
Intro:
... we should be invested in the outcome, but the storytelling gets bogged down and clichéd – it does look good, though.
This Canadian thriller with horror overtones is another recent movie featuring a truffle hunting pig. Released in its native Canada only a few months after the Nicolas Cage drama Pig, Peppergrass is a pandemic tale about pregnant and struggling restaurateur Eula (co-director Chantelle Han) and barman Morris (Charles Boyland). Times are tough at their eatery Peppergrass. It’s lockdown and they’re barely getting customers for takeaway, so a plan is hatched to steal prized truffles from Reuben (Michael Copeman), a war veteran friend of Eula’s late grandfather that she met when she was a kid.
Early scenes in the dimly lit, empty restaurant bode well – there’s a gritty indie feel and the couple’s conversation is intriguing. They then journey on a freezing winter’s night to find Reuben, but he and his scruffy big pig find them first. Reuben leads the pair to his ‘cabin in the woods’ where Morris, who we later find out has cocaine stashed on him, demands truffles from the scary, hairy, taciturn Reuben. The situation suddenly turns into a nightmare … but a few scenes later, the horror vibes disappear and this suddenly becomes a survival-in-the-wilderness tale focussed on Eula.
The performances are believable, yet it doesn’t fulfil the promise of its early scenes. The relationship between Eula and Morris isn’t explored – all we know is that they bicker, and Eula’s pregnancy is only really hinted at. When she becomes lost on Reuben’s property, we should be invested in the outcome, but the storytelling gets bogged down and clichéd – it does look good, though.
‘Cabin in the woods’, ‘lost in the woods’ – Peppergrass isn’t self-aware enough to do something clever with these tropes. It’s also not thrilling enough to be a proper nailbiter. Unfortunately, Peppergrass doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do – scare you.
