(Streamed via Cinehouse)
I went into Killer Pinata expecting to see a pinata kill people. I got that, but I also got more. A lot more.
Killer Pinata is one of the best horror movies I have seen in some time. It takes a Troma level premise and gives it the A24 treatment. There is a tongue in cheek aspect, sure. This is Killer Pinata after all. However, there is an offbeat artiness to the entire enterprise that is enormously endearing.
The film is essentially a variation on Child’s Play, except, you know, with a pinata. A father buys a bunch of pinatas for his kid’s birthday party. After seeing his friends smashed to pieces, the devilish donkey pinata sets out to get revenge on his fallen comrades. He singles out a bunch of college kids partying it up and proceeds to take them out one by one.
The scene where the pinata watches in horror as a little kid beats another pinata in super slow motion is downright hauntingly beautiful. I never thought I would ever type that sentence but here we are. Trust me, the movie still gives you the sort of hijinks you’d expect. In one scene, the pinata strings up a dork and beats him until his teeth splay out onto the pavement like hard candy. There’s also more than one scene where the pinata shits tainted (no pun intended) candy that kills whoever eats it. However, despite these broad, obvious moments there’s a funky, vibrant, swagger to the film that makes it unique and tons of fun.
It does have a little trouble stretching its admittedly thin premise out to a feature length. One undercooked subplot involves the pinata possessing a human and forcing him to do its dirty work. However, some of the padding works surprisingly well (like the great animated flashback detailing the origin of the killer pinata), and director Stephen Tramontana pulls off several unlikely sequences with unexpected pizzazz. (The Pinata POV shots are very well done.) Besides, as I said at the beginning of this review: Killer Pinata gives you what you expect, but brother, does it give you a whole lot more.
Bottom Line: This pinata is chockfull of goodies.
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