We watched Black Sheep. No, not the 1996 movie with David Spade and Chris Farley.

THIS Black Sheep, in which a genetic experiment goes terribly wrong and turns hordes of gentle sheep into blood thirsty zombie killers.

The sheep were made by the gifted prop technicians at Weta Workshop (also responsible for Dead Alive, a.k.a. Braindead).

I learned something from this film. The sight of fluffy sheep (particularly in large numbers), charging full speed ahead with murderous intent, is ALWAYS funny. So is an ominous quick camera cut to a deadpan sheep.

New Zealand horror (particularly if Weta is involved) has a certain exaggerated charm. Characters border on caricature, crayola-red blood spurts ten feet in the air, body parts become strangely elastic, and the sound effects are completely cartoonish.

I’m actually shocked that anyone thought to write a serious criticism of a movie that uses “Get Ready for the Violence of the Lambs!” as its tag line.