Maxance Vincent
I wasn’t planning on seeing Sander Maran’s Chainsaws Were Singing at the Fantasia International Film Festival, let alone covering it. I know, I know, this may seem like a bad thing to say, but I have a bit of a squeamish spirit when it comes to underground art. I can tolerate violence and endless amounts of gore if it’s shot in a specific way, but underground films tend to be incredibly gnarly with their depiction of it. And seeing it programmed with a short film called Shitter, I felt like passing on this movie would probably be a good idea for my stomach.
Having now seen both films, I would like to punch this version of myself in the face. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, I lined up an hour before the planned showtime of Chainsaws Were Singing and witnessed cinematic greatness, the likes of which you can only observe once in your life. After the film ended, there was no choice for me but to come back home and write about how brilliant it was so that more eyeballs could see what I’d just seen: a total revelation in do-it-yourself filmmaking, mixing incredibly catchy tunes, absurd comedy, and, yes, very gnarly and socially unacceptable violence to create one of the most sensational theatrical events the big screen was made for.
The hype was already great before the movie even began, with a lineup so massive some audience members were probably denied entry. That’s how you know something’s up, even if you’re not terrifically enthused with the prospect of a short + feature program filled with humor related to bodily fluids and gore. Perhaps Chainsaws Were Singing will not please moviegoers looking for a sophisticated time in the cinema, but it was clearly made to be experienced by an audience who loves outsider art and has a pure, unadulterated penchant for maximalist, in-your-face filmmaking.
During the Q&A moderated by programmer and critic Justine Smith, director Sander Maran revealed that the film was shot in 2013 and is only making its way to the festival circuit now. With Chainsaws Were Singing having its international premiere at Fantasia, the film is poised to not only find an audience but to become the next independent classic, worthy of the success that Hundreds of Beavers is currently getting (which, funnily enough, also premiered at Fantasia last year).
Describing Chainsaws Were Singing to a layperson may prove difficult, as one must go into this film as blind as a bat, having not seen a single piece of footage to appreciate the bonkers ride you’re about to embark on (the short trailer also reveals way too much). At the screening, Maran introduced it perfectly, saying, “The film is a bit too long for a genre film, with 117 minutes, a bit too violent, a bit too naughty, definitely too musical.” Such a mashup like this shouldn’t work, especially when it’s more inspired by underground tendencies than traditional filmmaking techniques, but Maran knows exactly what he’s doing.
It then doesn’t take long for us to become enraptured by this true achievement in independent filmmaking. Across the board, Chainsaws Were Singing explodes with incredible energy, featuring practical effects worthy of Peter Jackson’s earlier horror films and a surreal story designed to keep you on your toes from the minute its opening kill sets the tone. Sure, it’s nasty, and the violence doesn’t hold back, but the absurd, almost shitpost-like nature of the whole thing (a rookie cop using a gun for the first time accidentally killing everyone around the chainsaw killer sort of movie) makes the gross-out nature of the film somewhat digestible.
As Maran said, perhaps it’s a bit too long for a genre feature, but there isn’t a single moment wasted here. Everything fires on all cylinders. Even the jankiest special effects are part of the charm of a picture that features exploding cars, babies used as weapons, a whole musical number on a bukkake fridge, and a lesbian hedgehog. If you’re going “what?” at that last part, perhaps it may not be the movie for you. But the hedgehog eventually becomes the film’s best part, with Maran going full Monty Python and the Holy Grail in the film’s most unexpected sequence that made the entire auditorium erupt with earsplitting applause.
Everyone was on their feet, clapping alongside the film’s captivating songs, cheering whenever someone would get killed through a terrific sense of slapstick, almost Bubsy Berkeley-like (that cop who keeps mishandling a gun is pure gold), and jumping whenever a sharp cut would lead into something even more indescribable.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Maran has far more tricks on his sleeve to keep you invested and clamor for more. But why would I reveal everything this film has in store for you? The lesbian hedgehog should already be your first point of reference for just how massively ridiculous but also wholly entertaining this thing is. It’s the type of authorial big swing that many moviegoers dream of seeing regularly at a mainstream level, but it seldom happens. It’s a film so outlandish and impeccably crafted at every turn that it practically feels surreal that it even exists. And the fact that it took eleven years for the movie to make its way to Fantasia and the festival sphere almost feels like a miracle.
However, Maran is ready to unleash this piece of horror musical nirvana into the world. And from the reactions of the sold-out crowd at the J.A. de Sève auditorium on a Tuesday night, Chainsaws Were Singing is poised to go big. As I said at the beginning of this article, I wasn’t planning to cover it, let alone see it. But the potential of witnessing an out-of-body experience like this was too good to refuse, instead of going to my planned showing of Fly Me to the Satiama: From Biwa Lake with Love.
I’m glad this last-minute decision was made. There’s simply nothing like Chainsaws Were Singing, and the fact that it looks this good with limited means of production shows just how talented of a filmmaking force Sander Maran is. The songs are already iconic, the kills are legendary, and the experience with a crowd rivals some of the biggest theatrical events of the year. The overall vibe of seeing it in a cinema is more positive than gnarly, even if the humor is extremely specific, and it may not be for everyone.
If you’re looking for life-changing entertainment, Chainsaws Were Singing may be it. Sure, it may be too long, too violent, too naughty, and definitely too musical, but it’s exactly what makes this movie an unforgettable event that will completely alter your perception of cinema as soon as its credits roll. The film may not have a release date just yet and will travel in the festival circuit for the next year or so, but don’t worry. You will see this soon enough and bask in its glory exactly the same way the Fantasia audience did. Chainsaws Were Singing is coming. And you will always remember when you were when you witnessed a cinematic triumph unlike any other, and perhaps the greatest movie of all time.
What more could cinema possibly offer after this?
SCORE: ★★★★
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