Squealer

Peacock has actually made some decent original content. Both TV series and movies. But this was sooo bad. Like embarrassing awful. I had watched some previous Peacock originals and was surprisingly impressed. Then I saw some recognizable names in this movie: Amos from The Expanse, Juice from Sons of Anarchy, Tyrese.. should be decent enough right? Wrong. Have I met the ridiculous minimum character standards yet? No? Ok fine, 170 more to go... The writers must have been fresh college grads because this movie was cookie cutter from the jump. Dialogue was less than amateur. Film lens was cheap. Clearly low budget. Character limit met. This movie sucked.

Exactly. Even for someone who can dig splatter and exploitation, this one really was a waste of film stock and everyone's time. As others have noted, it's based on the Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, and yet again we're treated to the fiction that it takes place in the US (yes, it was filmed in New Mexico, but so what?) because... because why? Because they don't want to shatter everyone's belief that all Canadians are *nice*? Trust me, they aren't - I've been in a room (twice, in fact) with Kevin O'Leary. But I'll not go off on that tangent. The point is that they could have stuck closer to the actual story and probably improved the movie, because it really wouldn't be possible to make it any worse. Some of the facts of the case are much creepier than they portrayed, such as the Pickton farm actually being very close to the populated areas that had grown around it rather than way out in the country as suggested in the movie. And everything about where he lived and what he did was far more squalid and creepy than portrayed, as much Ed Gein and Texas Chainsaw Massacre as forensic procedural, as the poice and MEs spent *years* sifting through the muck in search of DNA traces of the dozens of women who had been killed. It's as though the filmmakers chose to pick the least interesting path through the entire story. I dunno how Graham Greene got roped into this.

So why a 2 instead of a 1, which is the lowest rating I use (I won't do 0 because they aren't counted)? Nudity. The braless cop was a treat and the victim with the pierced nipples was impressive, though I'm pretty sure those were prosthetics. See? I can be cerebral and shallow at the same time. Anyway, I watched this one so you don't have to. There are other movies based on this story that are worth the time.

Highly unoriginal! The plot is exactly what you get from the description and nothing more.

It is one of those movies that are painfully to watch and you keep checking the run time to see just how much more you have to endure. It really is a test of patience and will, one that I passed barely, with some breaks, checking the phone and rolling my eyes about 100 times.

I simply found nothing to like about it, it's not even so bad it's good, no horror, action, tension, interesting characters, dialogue, just a freaking bone would have suffice. Sadly, no such thing here. And what is happening with Tyrese Gibson, how did he end up hin this one. I don't consider him a good actor but surely he can do better than this. He had made a name for himself.

Anyway, back to Squealer. Such a waste of time really, if any effort was put into this, I don't know where it went. Very dry movie that leaves you with that memorable quote 'I'm not gonna get these 90 minutes back'.

Cheers!

What a horrible movie. The acting was horrid & the story was cheesy. The only parts of this movie that had any meat to it were the bloody gore scenes. I'm almost shocked that Tyrese Gibson had any part in this movie. Not saying Tyrese Gibsson's a great actor but he makes the rest of these people in this movie look like amateur high school drama students. It'll definitely have you squealing for wasting 1 1/2 hrs of your life watching this hot garbage! I did see this movie from beginning to end out of curiosity to what was going to happen but it literally took me a week turning it off & back on resuming where I left off because I couldn't stand watching it for any more than 15 to 20 minute durations.

Squealer is a serial killer film, whose story is loosely based on the Robert Picton case.

It's not exact portrayal, or anything.

But the similarities are clearly there.

Anyone from Canada will clearly recognize this.

Especially because Ronnie Gene Blevins looks remarkably similar to him, here.

Picton was a pig farmer- known as "The Butcher" or "Pigman"- who preyed on drug addicted prostitutes from the poverty stricken East Side of Vancouver.

And was one of the most prolific serial killers in Canadian history.

Like in the film, after killing his victims...he would dismember, and feed their remains to his pigs.

Possibly after eating bits of their bodies, himself.

The creators have obviously taken their own artistic liberties with his story.

Adding in an extended crime aspect, some drama, and a criminal investigation angle to it.

But the basis for it all won't escape the observations of any Canadian viewers, who were privy to news coverage throughout the 2000s.

Where the story dominated the news cycle.

The role played by Kate Moennig is also based on a real person, Dinah Taylor.

Who was Picton's main accomplice in the killings.

She would introduce Picton to many of his victims, in exchange for drugs.

Whose promise was the lure she'd use to get the girls to come to Picton's farm.

The woman who escapes from him at the beinning of the film is based on a real person, as well.

The pseudonymous "Ms. Anderson", who testified about escaping from Picton's farm in handcuffs at his trial.

While the Lulu character played by Christina Gonzalez is somewhat based on Monique Wood.

Another woman who would testify, about her interaction with Picton, at his trial.

In regards to production...sure, it's kind of a low budget effort, with heavy made-for-TV vibes.

As if it were a Lifetime movie, or something like that.

But the acting in it is surprisingly decent, across the board.

And it does have a subtly creepy vibe going for it.

But it's not overtly scary.

And acts more like a biopic, than it does a horror.

I also love how they make the unsung hero, of the whole ordeal, iconic Canadian actor Graham Greene.

Who does a great job as the doctor, whose observations break open the case.

While by no means a masterpiece, in any conceivable facet.

It's certainly a competent, and entertaining, low budget biopic.

That is likely to resonate with Canadian viewers.

Even if American viewers aren't able to recognize the connections to the actual case.

The bit where the pigs maul the dude is hilariously absurd though.

4.5 out of 10.