The Saw franchise found success in spite of its repetitive nature thanks to satisfying a niche audience’s bloodlust by proxy, and because it had an incredibly talented actor in Tobin Bell to fill out the role of its sadistically “benevolent” villain. Unlike Saw, Chop doesn’t have a compelling villain behind the mutilations that drive the story; in fact, it’s the film’s villain and how he’s written into the story that makes the film fall apart in the opening 10 minutes. Written off with a glib line of “It’s amazing what you can buy off eBay for $89.99”, the villain has an almost omniscient stranglehold on the story’s front half and it makes the entire story a bit hard to swallow. So much so, that by the time the protagonist is firmly in his grasp (which is true for most of the film anyways), the stakes don’t feel raised and the revelations about the past are simply tiresome.
With his car broken down and no means to get help, Lance Reed (Will Keenan) hitches a ride with a stranger only to be drugged and forced to perform a horrific deed. Why? His tormentor (Timothy Muskatell) holds a grudge for something Lance did way back when he was a drug addict, and as a means of revenge plants ideas in his head and forbids Lance from consulting with those closest to him to confirm or contradict them, under penalty of further torture. When Lance breaks the deal, the evil man returns and begins a vindictive agenda that costs Lance a fair number of limbs for as long as he can’t remember the past.
The moments of comedy mixed into the story are just enough to let Chop run its course, but the acting and the story make the film not worth watching in the first place. The direction is sloppy, and the writing ricochets between sappy and inane in a matter of seconds.
DVD Bonus Features
Outtakes and deleted scenes are all you’ll find here.
"Chop" is on sale December 27, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Horror. Directed by Trent Haaga. Written by Adam Minarovich. Starring Timothy Muskatell, Will Keenan.
