Squealer, Andy Armstrong’s feature directorial debut, follows the investigation into the disappearance of several young women in a small town. While the search for the killer goes slowly, the local butcher, who goes by Squealer, is taking and killing girls he finds around town. Starring Ronnie Gene Blevins as the titular character and performances from Theo Rossi, Wes Chatham, Danielle Burgio, and Tyrese Gibson, Squealer is a gruesome slasher with little to offer outside its over-the-top gore.
The film’s lighting and camera work make it feel like watching a soap opera, especially in scenes that do not involve our killer. The colors and textures shown on screen drastically shift when switching between Squealer and those searching for him. The contrast between his harsh, gritty-looking scenes and the lighter, more bland scenes away from him could believably be from two entirely separate movies. This tonal whiplash winds up being more disorienting than it is interesting. While there are some interesting kills, the camera does nothing new in terms of framing or movement that would cause any of them to stand out against the rest. The scenes that look the best take place on Squealer’s farm, where the process and setup of how he carves up his victims are worth seeing all on their own.
The most prolific performance in Squealer is Theo Rossi as Danny D, an impeccably dressed, mysterious criminal who is somehow affiliated with Squealer. Rossi brings a lot of much-needed pop and charm that the other actors can’t quite pull out of their characters. While Rossi is the best performance, Tyrese Gibson is the funniest. He honestly looks like he’s just there to react to the other characters, and not in a detrimental way. His expressions are genuinely funny and work well as cutaways from the action around him. Ronnie Gene Blevins’ portrayal of Squealer is solid, but never gets to the point of the menacing killer this film needs to get to the next level. He delivers a couple of chilling lines to some of the girls he kidnaps throughout the movie and is regrettably not given much else to work with by way of dialogue. Blevins is certainly a physically imposing on-screen presence and shows his strength more and more as he racks up his victims in rapid succession.
Unlike some slashers, the tension in the movie lies more in the cat-and-mouse game full of near misses with the killer instead of learning the identity of the killer himself, at least for the viewer. There’s no mystery in this story, but it’s full of suspense as the police hunt down Squealer before he attacks another victim. This allows the film to hone in on the chase and clues left behind rather than inviting the audience to be suspicious of every character until the finale. These parts of the film are the most compelling, but it loses steam when it spends more time on the surrounding subplots, primarily the relationship between Jack and Lisa. The narrative’s momentum comes to a halt during these scenes and would have benefited from a tighter, more streamlined script.
Squealer is a decent thriller that has plenty of ups and downs, and unfortunately, the latter seems to win out. A couple of enthralling kills are not enough to overcome the messy script and overall uninspired acting outside of Theo Rossi. Despite the film not being entirely successful, there are some scenes that prove Andy Armstrong has some serious directing talent. It’s clear that he brought his prior stunt work experience into the director’s chair and it pays off in a few key moments of the film.
Squealer is currently playing in select theaters and is available on Digital and On Demand courtesy of Lionsgate.
Squealer is a decent thriller that has plenty of ups and downs, and unfortunately, the latter seems to win out.
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GVN Rating 4.1
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Proud owner of two movie passes. Met Harrison Ford at a local diner once. Based in Raleigh, NC.