SWEETIE, YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT (2020)
Label: 101 Films
Region Code: B
Rating: 15 Cert.
Duration: 74 Minutes
Audio: PCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.7:1)
Director: Ernar Nurgaliev
Cast: Daniyar Alshinov, Assel Kaliyeva, Yerkebulan Daiyrov, Azamat Marklenov.: Daniar Alshinov, Asel Kaliyeva, Azamat Marklenov, Yerlan Primbetov, Dulyga Akmolda, Almat Sakatov
The Kazakhstan horror thriller comedy Sweetie, You Wont Believe It (2022), from director Yernar Nurgarliyev, opens with married quarrelsome couple Dastan (Daniar Alshinov) and Zhanna (Asel Kaliyeva) who are expecting their first child. Dastan is a bit of a fuck-up and his very pregnant wife is none to forgiving of his failings, though I do think she is painted to be a bit too much of a nag, especially in the opening scenes. Regardless, it serves to show why Dastan is so desperate to get away for one last weekend of fishing with his bros the same weekend that his baby is to be born.
His best pals turn out to be even bigger fuck-ups than he is, and arrive to pick him up for a boys weekend in a van full of defective inflatable fuck dolls, hitting the road for some good times. After a brief stop at creepy gas station we find them floating down a sleepy creek in an inflatable boat followed by an improvised raft made with the blow-up dolls, where the boys witness a murder by a group of idiotic gangsters lead by the philosophy quoting Kuka. The gangsters are no bright bulbs themselves, and the execution they carryout is accidental in so much as the murder they commit seems to have been intended as just a terrifying shakedown, but they're inept and accidentally blow the guys head off, Pulp Fiction style.
Having inadvertently witnessed the crime the three friends find themselves frantically fleeing the violent clutches of the gangsters, one of whom passes out at the sight of blood... and spoiler alert, he faints A LOT over the course of the film! Also figuring into the splatstick mayhem is a mysterious disfigured one-eyed man with seemingly superhuman strength and thirst for blood, particularly that of the gangsters who it turns out have killed his dog, and a demented young woman and her father team who attempt to force Datsun to marry and impregnate her after spotting him at the gas station earlier in the day.
Chock full of blood, guts and gore this madcap horror-comedy is a ton of fun, the main thing against it might be that there's no one to root for, everybody here are unlikable shit-hells, but as most meet a grisly end, or at the very least are punished brutally for their stupidity I can forgive it. The screenplay is a bit all over the place, it's an everything and the kitchen sink bit of madcap carnage, but thanks to the cast being all-in on the silliness and some terrific comedic timing in regard to acting and editing it all falls together and apart quite nicely. The brief run time and copious amounts of gore also don't hurt it either, with plenty of gunshots, savage knife wounds, decapitation and quite a bit more.
One of my favorite scenes is that of one of the three friends pissing into a bottle inside the van much to the disgust of his pals. His action and his friends reactions are the lynchpin that basically brings together the disparate elements together catastrophic results, with the fucked-up father and daughter bringing a The Loved Ones wild card element to the proceeding.
Audio/Video: Sweetie, You Won't Believe It (2022) arrives on region B Blu-ray from 101 Films in 1080p HD widescreen and looks sharp, plus we get an uncompressed Kazakh pCM stereo audio with optional English subtitles. The only extras is a trailer for film.
Special Features:
- Trailer
Sweetie, You Wont Believe It (2022) is probably my favorite foreign film the ultra-violent Why Don't You Just Die, and comes highly recommended to fans of that film and stuff like Tucker And Dave vs Evil. If you're a fan of amped-up, blood-soaked and violent horror-thriller comedies this is sure to be a pleaser.
