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PEPPERGRASS (2023)

Directed/Written by Steven Garbas, Chantelle Han.
Starring Chantelle Han, Charles Boyland, Michael Copeman, Philip Williams, Craig Porritt

At the height of COVID, a pair of broke bartenders (Chantelle Han and Charles Boyland) have a plan to make quick cash by stealing some prize truffles from a reclusive truffle farmer. But once the heist goes sideways, they find themselves lost in a dark forest with an angry farmer and his monstrous pig ager out for their blood.

PEPPERGRASS is a moody and atmospheric man vs. nature film where for the bulk of the movie is dedicated for the leads to survive the harsh environment they’ve found themselves lost in. The film is a dark one and I don’t mean tone. Much of the movie is bathed in shadows and though I never lost track of who’s who due to a very small cast, it is difficult to make out specific details going on due to the lack of light. But even though the picture is obscured, PEPPERGRASS tells an arduous survival tale featuring some high maintenance people having difficulty making it in the wild.

The film takes its time unfolding and allows the characters of Eula (Beck) and Morris (Boyland) to show off their many bizarre traits. Eula, even though she is fighting for her life, takes the time to reapply eye makeup throughout the film, which some might read as a vapid aspect of her personality, but for me it seems like she does this as a soothing mechanism deal with her anxiety. Morris, on the other hand, uses cocaine to ironically temper his nerves. Both characters show a lot of depth in very little screentime, making them interesting characters to follow.

While the truffle farmer is shrouded in shadow most of the time, he does work well as a major threat here. From his ability to blend into the shadows, his high powered and highly precise gun, and his control of his boar sized pig, he is very much a force to be reckoned with. Though I feel there could have been a few more scenes with the pig, the film does a good job of throwing a lot of danger at our protagonists to deal with.

This is obviously a COVID era film, it works the lockdown into the plot, so the scope is limited and the cast is small. That said, filmmakers Steven Garbas and Chantelle Han (who also stars in it) do a great job of keeping the tone of this survival movie dire all the way through. There are late in the game themes of Eula’s lack of faith and commitment, as well as themes of responsibility, greed and revenge. Some are just touched upon, others are glossed over and barely mentioned, but they are present, even though they could have been more so to make for a more resonant film. As is, PEPPERGRASS is a survivalist version of Nic Cage’s recent masterpiece PIG without all of that deft character work and compelling insight into the truffle and cooking industry. It’s a functional tale of a battle against the elements of nature and the greedier aspects of humanity.

Check out the trailer here!!