Movie Description
A beautiful holiday in Mallorca turns ugly fast in this British horror film. Sex and drugs are only the beginning for three Leeds girls who join four men from London on their yacht, and an orgy soon turns deadly for one of the vacationers. The attempts to cover up one death soon lead to more murders, and now each of the survivors has to fight for his or her life--even if that means killing someone.
A group of 20-something British women are subjected to a day of abject terror in this bloody and sexually explicit feature from director Olly Blackburn. The three women (played by Jaime Winstone, Sian Breckin, and Nichola Burley) meet four guys (played by Tom Burke, Jay Taylor, Julian Morris, and Robert Boulter) while indulging in the high life on vacation in Majorca. The guys work as deckhands on a yacht, and they invite their female suitors to a trip out to sea aboard the palatial vessel. Once onboard, a session of heady drug-taking and partying ensues, with some graphic sex scenes between the principal cast members. But a tragic accident quashes their idyll, and Blackburn’s movie takes a darker turn as the young seafarers are faced with a series of moral dilemmas.
DONKEY PUNCH is named after a kinky and violent sexual practice that the male crewmembers brag about while trying to seduce their female prey. Blackburn pushes his young cast to the limit as he spins the movie around an instance of the "donkey punch," until things turn increasingly maniacal in its final third. The confused and angry interactions between the two groups of strangers is well explored, and the director throws enough twists and turns into the plot to keep viewers guessing where the film might end up. Scenes are often shot in tight close-up to highlight both the confines of the boat and the terror on the faces of Blackburn’s group of actors. It’s an effective ploy that really ratchets up the tension as DONKEY PUNCH reaches its climax, and serves to highlight the abilities of this group of young British actors, who include Ray Winstone’s daughter (Jaime Winstone) among their number.
| Credits | | Producer: | Mark Herbert, Robin Gutch | | Cast: | Sian Breckin |
Editorial Reviews
"Tom Burke's sinister DJ Bluey is a standout....Blackburn's control of atmosphere signals future promise."
Sight and Sound - Matthew Taylor (08/01/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "The build-up and initial complications are suspenseful and horribly believable....First-time director Olly Blackburn, who co-scripted with David Bloom, gets good work from an outstanding young cast..."
Empire - Kim Newman (08/01/2008)
"DONKEY PUNCH isn't without a certain power as it gleefully turns its careless hedonists into caged, paranoid rats."
Los Angeles Times - Robert Abele (01/23/2009)
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