The cruelty of teenage girls is more distressing than the growing pile of bloodied bodies in this ferocious study of the horrors of bullying.

Sara lives a humble existence in a small Spanish town. Relentlessly harassed by a merciless trio of mean girls and finding no support from the adults in her life, she tries to make herself as invisible as possible – no easy task when all anybody focuses on is her weight. One hot summer’s day, Sara heads to the pool early in the hope that it will be mostly empty. Unfortunately, her bullies are there, too. Unfortunately for her bullies, so is a mysterious stranger.

Expanding her Goya Award–winning short of the same name (MIFF 2019), director Carlota Pereda’s long-form debut is a nuanced but exhilarating examination of adolescent ferocity – with a body count. Shot in a restrictive Academy ratio to emphasise the claustrophobic nature of Sara’s world, Piggy is a star-making vehicle for actor Laura Galán, who wears Sara’s anguished shame, rage, fear and guilt, not to mention nascent sexual desire, with empathy and conviction. Featuring splashes of dark humour that punctuate the gruesome violence that builds to the film’s cathartic, morally ambiguous climax, Piggy is a brutally fresh and fierce take on the revenge genre.

“An engrossing study of a perpetually put-upon young woman shedding her victimhood under the most dire circumstances.” – Rue Morgue