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Shot in black and white by Nico B, the film is based on script from Rozz Williams who plays the killer and is also the co-director. A man wearing a pig mask takes his victim to an abandoned house in Death Valley and methodically tortures him by following the pages of a book entitled Why God Permits Evil. At first glance, Pig is a repugnant and sordid film. The tortures inflicted upon the victim (played by James Hollan) are really perpetrated in front of the camera in the desire for realism that dangerously lingers towards a snuff film. The attachment of certain organs, the piercing of nipples and the razor inscription of "pig" on the actor's chest are difficult to watch and put the audience in the shocking position of witnessing a monstrous act that's almost too real. The presence of surrealist images nevertheless confirms that Pig isn't just a totally gratuitous exercise in sadism. Why God Permits Evil is the artistic and maleficent adaptation of an old testament created by Williams. The singer, who conceived of the film with the aim of exorcising his own demons, logically plays the killer and gives free reign to his imagination without having to undergo the consequences of truly going through with the act. Williams knows he's prey to unhealthy ideas and tries to punish himself with them in this film. Beyond his own trouble, he shows the presence of evil in human beings. Why God Permits Evil symbolizes the various representations of evil present in our society. When the killer engraves the word "Pig" on the chest of his victim everything becomes clear. Hollan's character is a martyr in whom the killer projects himself. The murderer punishes himself through his victim and the word "Pig" refers to the monster he indeed is. The scene where the faces of the killer and the victim become one under the same bandage only confirms this morbid transposition. The film is also strongly imprinted by sadomasochism and homosexual eroticism. Though the relationship between the master and the slave can be considered as another facet of a ritual strongly anchored in fetishism, the homosexual eroticism can be translated into Williams' desires. The soundtrack composed by Williams reinforces the troubling and experimental aspect of Pig, an amateur film that is located somewhere between art and documentary. A shocking and disgusting work whose extreme imagery proves to be a relentless representation of a serial killer's deranged universe and of evil in its purest state. DVD extras: Limited to only 1334 copies, this edition in particular includes a reproduction of the book, Why God Permits Evil, as well as audio commentary that's informative regarding the degree of realism in the film.
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