*WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
The story of SWEATSHOP revolves around a group of Punk/Emo/Goth type twentysomethings that arrive at a large warehouse to set up for what they hope will be a very profitable rave party. Unknown to them they are not alone in the warehouse, but unfortunately for them they are far too busy arguing, drinking, and having sex to notice. That is until most of them are dead and the final survivors try to figure out what is going on, but unfortunately for the viewer they never really do. That is pretty much all there is to the plot as this film is just another set them up and kill them off type of slasher film. That being said this film still has some entertaining moments, and the special make up effects are the real star of the show.
Stacy Davidson is a decent director/cinematographer and some of the camera work is actually really good. Unfortunately the acting ranges fro passable to painfully bad, and the writing is completely inept. The "script" for this film fails to provide any attempt at character development, and the story itself is paper thin. The location is a one trick pony (probably due to the films extremely low budget) as the film spends it's entire running time either in, or around the warehouse. The sound design is pretty good for a low budget slasher flick, the music and dialogue are clear and easily audible, but the ADR work is very noticeably out of sync in a lot of places.
SWEATSHOP is a decent, but poorly written modern slasher film. The characters are dumb, underwritten, and completely unlikable. The problem with having unlikable characters is that it gives the audience no one to care about, or root for. This does in a way make their deaths more enjoyable, because who doesn't enjoy watching annoying badly written characters die gruesome deaths? I know I do! The big problem with the writing is that there is no backstory for the killer and his two mutant assistants. Who are they? Where did they come from? Why are they in the warehouse, and more importantly why should I care? The one thing a slasher film has to have is a memorable killer with a decent backstory, a costume of some kind, and a signature weapon. The killer in this film is a large man that wears a welders mask, is covered in animal furs, and wields an anvil that has been fashioned into a hammer. The killers look is okay, but the script provides no purpose, or reason for him to be at the warehouse smashing people with his big ass hammer. Having said that the film does have a few saving graces that provide some much needed entertainment value: Hot naked women and copious amounts of gore. That's the one thing that really stands out about this film, the quality and quantity of the practical make up effects that thankfully feature minimal CGI enhancement. The kills that are featured in this film are very well done and worth the price of admission alone, but the horrible writing makes the thought of repeated viewings an unthinkable act.
-BMOVIEMIKE
