Audiences today have a fascination with serial killers: we have Criminal Minds, a TV show about catching serial killers; Dexter, a show about a serial killer; and movie franchises like the Hannibal Lecter films, Saw, etc. In some cases, these fictional stories take their cues from real-life killers, such as in the case of Robbie “Willie” Pickton, who killed tens of women on his Vancouver pig farm. The exact number of women Pickton killed may never be known and the information surrounding his case has long been incomplete due to the gag order on some of the key people in his case, himself included. It’s been years since Pickton was caught and only now have many of the details of his case come to light thanks to The Pig Farm, which features testimonies of Pickton’s closest friends, survivors of his rampage, and family and friends of victims. The documentary might be heavy on talking heads and dry at times, but more often than not it’s just enthralling, and a little bit horrifying, to hear how many fingers were pointed at Pickton and how long it took for the law to finally put the pieces together.
It’s easy to forget when watching crime procedurals just how farfetched they really are. Seldom do the pieces fall into place neatly or when they’re needed, and police can’t always tell when a witness is lying and force the truth through a clever ploy. It just doesn’t happen that way though, and The Pig Farm illustrates just how long it can take. The pursuit to bring in Robbie Pickton was rife with obstacles, like a series of unreliable witnesses (all of whom were dead on in their suspicions), and an investigation that showed its hand one too many times. The Pig Farm is genuinely interesting, but God, if it isn’t incredibly frustrating too.
As a made-for-television documentary, there are obvious breaks for commercials, but beyond those moments of redundancy, the pace skips along between interviews, archival footage, dramatic reenactments, and audio clips of Pickton.
DVD Bonus Features
There are none.
"The Pig Farm" is on sale October 11, 2011 and is not rated. Documentary. Written by Chrisine Nielsen.
