Chainsaws Were Singing is a bizarre, hilarious horror musical (Fantasia)

Fantasia Festival - horror/comedy/musical

Chainsaws Were Singing poster. Courtesy of Fantasia Festival.

I didn't know that what my International Women's Day celebration needed was an Estonian horror musical with gay cannibal dads and a lesbian hedgehog, but here we are. Chainsaws Were Singing from director Sander Maran is a hilarious movie that I had the chance to screen at the Fantasia Festival, and there’s a good chance that no matter what you think this movie is going to be, it’s going to subvert those expectations.

We open with our ingenue Maria (Laura Niils) running away from the chainsaw-wielding Killer (Martin Ruus). While she escapes for a time, meeting Tom (Karl Ilves) and forging a sweet, if bizarre, romantic connection, she is eventually caught by Killer and brought home for dinner to his Mother (Rita Rätsepp), his artistic brother Pepe (Ra Ragnar Novod), and a pair of doting fathers, Pelle (Peeter Maran) and Kevin (Henryk Johan Novod), only to discover that she is on the menu. Tom joins forces with the pessimist Jaan (Janno Puusepp) to try to rescue his love.

The premise of this movie lays all of its cards on the table in the first five minutes, and you will know almost immediately if you are ready for this ride or if you want to check out. Music, gore, absurd jokes - this movie is going to throw all of that in your face immediately. 

The story is broken down into chapters, each following a character through the events where they will eventually all meet up again. This works well to keep the flow going, though, in Tom’s chapter, things do bog down a bit when he and Jaan meet the Bukkake tribe. It’s funny, but with a run time of nearly two hours, that scene could have easily been eliminated to tighten up the story. 

The musical selections are fun and, for the most part, truly enhance the story. The finale could have probably used someone a bit more familiar with the structure of a musical theater-style mashup, but for a low-budget horror film, it worked remarkably well. Niils and Ruus are both great singers and could have been featured more.

The performances are so bizarre that it’s hard to categorize them as good or bad. I will say that they are committed, and they bring the exact energy that something like this needs. 

When we finally get to the climax of the film and discover what sent Killer on his dark path, I absolutely screamed with delight. It is so silly and unexpected that it immediately became one of my favorite moments in the movie. 

This movie definitely won’t be for everyone. It is a strange, outlandish movie that doesn’t flinch. At every turn, Chainsaws Were Singing continues its eccentric march toward the end. But if you’re on board, I think you’re going to enjoy it immensely.