Piggy (Cerdita)

The title Piggy doesn’t leave much to the imagination and what Sara (Laura Galán) has to go through, isn’t either as her tormentors’ tear into her and her family: an all-out attack of abuse and humiliation via social media and verbally. A more distressing opening twenty minutes the viewer is unlikely to see as Sara – in the heat of Extremadura is forced to go swimming when the pool is empty so she can avoid the abuse, has the bad luck to be at the pool when the bullies turn up and let loose.

And there’s little solace at home from an oppressive mother and weak father, who appear to have no idea what their daughter is going through (and that they too are victims) until it is viscerally presented to them with the disappearance of a couple from the swimming pool and later Sara’s tormentors.

Initially there’s little reaction from Sara but as the situation drags in the local police and a killer it leaves her having to reflect on her actions and what to do with the knowledge she possesses.

Filmed in dazzling sunlight that saturates the frame the heat is palpably oppressive to the viewer sealing the film’s gruelling atmosphere, Piggy presents an insight into the cruelty of human nature and the depths it can plumet.

Laura Galán’s performance is perfect: tormented by family and bullies, finding some solace in their comeuppance, then her mind contorting with the rights and wrongs of her actions and inactions.

The question is hard pitched: How far is it acceptable to go in defence and maybe retaliation? This is very cleverly threaded by writer and director Carlota Pereda through the film (an extension of her 2018 short film) as Sara vies with her self-loathing, the abuse she receives and how far she is ultimately prepared to go and, indeed sacrifice.

This is horror at its most potent, focusing on relevant social issues. Some viewers could feel this to be far too close for comfort.