Livestock (2009)
Reviewed by Geno McGahee – February 22, 2009
The premise of this debut film by Christopher Di Nunzio is very interesting and I was immediately drawn to it. We have a cult that operates under the radar and controls much of the world. The film begins with some very good artwork, showing various pictures of occult images and setting the tone. The imagery was a very effective way to give the audience an ominous feeling going into it.
We begin with Victor (Fiore Leo) having an intense meeting with his boss Edger Ozera (Robert Hines). Edger runs this branch of the cult and they have a pressing matter. A former friend of the family is moving on into politics and may cause some problems for them, so something has to be done. So we have a mafia meets horror movie, which isn’t a bad thing, especially  considering that the majority of these actors are outstanding for a very low budget film. I was very impressed with both Leon and Hines. Hines was especially imposing as the leader of this group.
The beginning of this film starts out very well and the meeting with the former associate is done well, and you soon realize just what this cult is. We have (spoiler) a group of vampire mobsters that are in the business of making money and killing people.
Now Annabel (Johanna Gorton) and Tina (Christina C. Crawford) are roommates and are collectively on the rebound from some bad relationships. Annabel has done the myspace dating deal and has met Jerry (Matt Phillion), a nice guy, while Tina meets up with Victor. Victor not only provides Tina loving, but he promises her the world both professionally and personally. This will be a relationship that she will later regret, while Annabel and Jerry seemed to find true love in a short period of time.
There is some interest in Annabel from the cult and I was impressed with some of the different camera angles that were used to create tension. When Annabel climbs up the stairs, one of the cult members is peering up at her. Looking down at the stone-faced vampire was a rather neat scene and so too was the shots in the park prior to the abduction of Annabel.
This film reminded me a great deal of another low budget film called STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN AT SUNDOWN. Mobsters have been called “bloodsuckers” and so too have corporation heads, and here it is a literal thing. LIVESTOCK has some problems. The office that the cult works out of is obviously somebody’s apartment but they do dress it up the best that they can, and it would have been nice to see the cult’s power more on display, but this still works, and it is still an impressive debut for Di Nunzio.
LIVESTOCK, overall, is a good film. The premise was very compelling and the acting was well above average for a micro budget film. There are points when the film drags on with excessive and somewhat meaningless dialogue, and the film ends somewhat abruptly. I liked the ending, but I would have liked to see more of the sinister side of this organization rather than just a piece of it. Edger Ozera was a very interesting character and when he delivered the history of the cult at the end, it was done well and was believable. It just seemed to start too late and end too quickly.
I recommend LIVESTOCK. The good heavily outweighs the bad and if you like vampire movies, you should enjoy this interesting take on the subject.
Scared Stiff Rating: 5.5/10. Great first effort for Di Nunzio.
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