British-made Majorca thriller stirs up a storm

PALMA
A NEW low-budget British thriller set in Majorca and which opens in cinemas in the UK today is exercising movie critics with its shocking depiction of a drug-fuelled orgy aboard a boat that goes horribly wrong.

The makers of Donkey Punch have received mixed reviews for their no-holds barred little movie about three girls from Leeds who out for a good time while on holiday on the island end up being invited to a party on board a luxury yacht by a group of posh lads.

What follows is lots of booze, drugs and sex, and the death of one of the girls during a sex game that goes horribly wrong (the donkey punch of the title involves hitting your partner in the back of the head during sex to increase their pleasure).

While some critics have praised the film for being a well-made, if violent, horror thriller (comparisons have been made with Dead Calm), others have slammed it for its nasty misogynism. Much of the criticism has revolved around the explicit sex scenes in the film and the depiction of the three “up-for-it” Northern lasses and the four cynical posh Southerners, which has been deemed by some to be blatant stereotyping.

Oliver Blackburn, the director and co-writer, and David Bloom, the co-writer, would probably argue that the film is a gritty portrayal of the sex and drugs fuelled partying that young Brits enjoy when they go on their holidays to places like the Balearics.

The film was made for less than a million pounds according to the makers, which means that, with all the publicity it is garnering, it is likely to make a decent return.

It has already received decent reviews at Robert Redford's independent movie vehicle, the Sundance Film Festival.
Most critics, however, are agreed that the performances from the young cast are spot on, including that of Jaime Winstone, daughter of Ray, who plays one of the girls.