A new poster and trailer recently dropped for Squeal, a dark comedy that releases in select theaters on August 19, as well as on VOD the same day in the United States and Canada. The trailer is one of those that does its job well. That is to say, my interest was piqued. I’d watch to find out what the heck is going on.
Because to say Squeal looks trippy is an understatement! I couldn’t help but think of the movie Babe as I watched the trailer. Well, more like Babe meets a Grimm’s fairy tale, that is. Let’s take a look at what the movie’s about and of course at the all-important trailer.
Squeal Storyline
Filmmaker Aik Karapetian’s dark fairy tale Squeal centers on Samuel (Kevin Janssens), who is far from home, searching for his father. Lost in remotest Eastern Europe, on the edges of a mythical forest, a minor road accident leads to a chance meeting with a pig farmer’s daughter, Kirke (Laura Silina).
Sam soon learns that his priorities must change if he wants to survive. Kirke’s initial hospitality is a smoke screen to capture him and make him a forced laborer on the farm. Alone, unable to speak the language, and chained up 24/7 with the pigs, he learns to adapt. Fortunately, a seemingly magical piglet gains Sam’s confidence and shows him the way to freedom and true love.
Squeal Cast & Crew
Squeal stars Kevin Janssens, Laura Silina, Aigars Vilims, Normunds Griestinš, Juris Bartkevics, and Guntis Pilsums.
It was directed by Aik Karapetian and written by Karapetian as well as Aleksandr Rodionov.
Squeal Trailer
About Aik Karapetian
Filmmaker Aik Karapetian is a graduate of the Latvian Academy of Culture and has a master’s degree in film direction from the Académie Internationale des Arts – ESEC (Paris). His first feature film, People Out There gained international acclaim after its premiere at the Karlovy Vary film festival in competition in 2012. After the successful horror feature The Man in the Orange Jacket (Fantastic Fest 2014, BFI London Film Festival), Aik released the thriller Firstborn (Sitges, Fantastic Fest, Paris International Film Festival 2017).
Aik has also staged two successful opera productions at the Latvian National Opera house, The Barber of Seville which was awarded as the Best stage production of the season in 2011 and FAUST, which premiered in September 2016. His version of Bizet’s Carmen premiered at the Opera National de Montpellier (France) in 2018 followed by Gounod’s Faust at the Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera (Norway) in 2019.
For More Info
Squeal‘s runtime is 85 minutes. It’s in Latvian and English (with English subtitles).
It releases in these theaters on August 19: Lumiere Music Hall in Los Angeles and Alamo Manhattan in New York.
It also releases on the same day on these VOD platforms in the U.S.: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Xfinity Cable, and more, as well as on these platforms in Canada: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
Check-In
Did the trailer for Squeal pique your interest too?
If so, be sure to check out the websites for Good Deed Entertainment and Cranked Up Films too. They both have some lesser-known, but nonetheless very interesting looking, films.
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
The trailer and the storyline pique my interest, and I sense a LOT of humor with the horror… fun!
Humor for sure! I don’t know how you top a pig bringing a pair of pliers to help the guy escape, but that was a riot!