A new trailer for Carlota Pereda’s unsettling Sundance horror flick Piggy, starring Laura Galán, has been released. During a particularly brutal Spanish summer, Sara, a social outcast who has been harassed on a regular basis by three other girls in her neighbourhood, witnesses her tormentors being cornered inside a stranger’s van and in urgent need of assistance. Now she must decide whether it is ethically acceptable to reveal what she witnessed or to remain silent. Sara’s entire predicament is depicted in the preview. She is constantly judged and mocked at home, and she is bullied in public places and even at her job as a butcher.
You can hear the bullies’ voices calling her “Piggy” over and over again as she goes about her day, illustrating the relentless harassment she has to endure. When she visits the neighbourhood pool, she is shocked to discover a mysterious man swimming laps at the end of the pool. After being questioned by police, Sara watches as one of her attackers is taken away in the stranger’s vehicle, bloodied and afraid. Sara’s sense of guilt grows as more and more people in town mysteriously die, and she resolves to exact her own brand of violent retribution. Since she has been keeping secrets about the girls and her family has confronted the girls’ parents about how they handled Sara, she is becoming a prime suspect in the inquiry into the murders and disappearances.
As for her tormentors, they are currently being subjected to a living nightmare while locked up in the killer’s lair. But if Sara’s final gesture of lifting her weapon is any indicator, she isn’t going to stand by and let them perish. This is Pereda’s debut feature film, and it’s a cinematic adaptation of a short film she made in 2018. The coming-of-age horror film has been receiving rave reviews for its unflinching portrayal of young people’s struggles with negative body image, bullying, and the repercussions of these issues, and will have its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before making an appearance at Fantastic Fest.
The film’s ensemble has also received accolades for their performances, particularly Galán’s as the withdrawn adolescent Sara. Richard Holmes, Carmen Machi, Irene Ferreiro, Camille Aguilar, Jose Pastor, Pilar Castro, Fernando Delgado-Hierro, and Claudia Salas also star in the film. Merry Colomer served as producer, while Magnet Releasing was responsible for distribution. On October 14, Piggy will be released in cinemas and on video on demand.