When debating who is in the right, what if everyone is in the wrong? What could be different if we stop and listen to each other? These are the questions asked by Meat Kills, which had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest. Mirthe (Caro Derkx) is desperate to join Animal Army, an extreme animal activist group. She takes a job at a pig farm to secretly film their practices, which gains her acceptance into the group. That same night, the group breaks into the farmers' home to set the pigs free and teach the humans a lesson. Things quickly get out of hand, and suddenly, the humans are hurting one another instead of helping animals.

The film takes the audience on a methodical tour of a real pig farm, explaining each step that pigs are sedated, killed, and processed, foreshadowing the innovative kills. Voltage to the head, a scalding bath, meat hooks, chains, and piles of meat in buckets all indicate the horrors humans are about to experience, which pigs go through every day at this farm.

Meat Kills wears its inspirations on its sleeve and pulls off homages rather than copy/paste from the greats. The parallels to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are clear, with a family at the center who processes meat to earn their living, and outsiders who break into their home, horrified at their way of life. The nods to 2000s horror, such as the Saw franchise and New French Extremity, are crystal clear. One scene in the meat plant looks almost identical to the iconic bathroom from Saw.

The story of how this film came to life is almost as interesting as the film itself. It was inspired by a trip to a real pig farm, and then shot on location at a pig farm on nights when the workers had gone home for the day. The actors were lying in real pig juices, smelling the blood and sweat from that day's work. That was enough for one of the actors to decide to go vegan. It was shot in 12 days, another unintentional homage to Saw, which was shot in a mere 18 days. Meat Kills is the first film in the Netherlands to earn an 18+ rating. The filmmakers are already planning a US remake to bring the film to even more audiences.

The film walks the fine line of criticizing the problems in the meat industry and criticizing extreme activism. Meat Kills wants us to find a way to have hard conversations and listen to each other, especially when we disagree. That's a useful stance for any disagreement, not just about factory farming. In addition to that lovely message, they achieve incredible gore, creative kills, and a love letter to 2000s horror.

Meat Kills had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025 on 19 September