‘Chainsaws Were Singing’ Review: A Delightfully Bloody Slasher Musical

From the very start of Chainsaws Were Singing, you know what you are getting into. In the opening ten minutes, you can tell that the movie was made on a minuscule budget, full of fake-looking explosions and blood squibs. However, there is something so endearing about the whole thing. This Estonian musical horror comedy hails from Sanders Maran, in his feature debut, and prides itself on being the ultimate mix between Monty Python, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Les Misérables. Those three titles might not sound like they would ever go together, and let’s be honest, at first glance, maybe they shouldn’t. Maran, on the other hand, takes it on as a challenge as a filmmaker, creating a two-hour-long movie, that, beneath all the crude humor and gross-out kills, just so happens to be one of the most delightful movies you’ll see all year.

What Is ‘Chainsaws Were Singing’ About?

Chainsaws Were Singing begins with Maria (Laura Niils) running down a seemingly peaceful road as she is pursued by the blood-covered and chainsaw-wielding Killer (Martin Ruus). After her would-be rescuer is chainsawed to death, Maria is thrown into the Killer’s van, en route to an unknown location, where she will likely be killed. Tom (Karl Ilves) is not too far behind, devastated that his new love is probably dead. He is soon picked up by the naive but well-intentioned Jaan (Janno Puusepp) who offers to help him, which Tom reluctantly accepts.

The thing is, Tom and Maria had only just met while both were about to commit suicide after having the worst days of their lives. The two quickly bond over their pain and that pain soon blossoms into a full-fledged romance, complete with a montage of their day together. As Tom and Jaan go on a bizarre and brutally violent quest, Maria is chained up in the Killer’s basement where she learns there’s much more to her captor than meets the eye.

With whimsical forest people, trigger-happy policemen, singing hippies, and a magical refrigerator, there’s always something interesting happening in Chainsaws Were Singing. Amidst all the madness, there also lies a lot of heart, which is ultimately this musical’s biggest asset.

‘Chainsaws Were Singing’ Plays Out Like a Feature-Length Adult Swim Sketch

Chainsaws Were Singing is full of all the violence and singing you would expect from the title, all filmed in a guerrilla style that gives it the look of a long-lost B-movie from the early 80s. Shockingly, it isn’t that far from the truth, as Maran shot the movie over a decade ago, in 2013. While comedy has rapidly changed in the last 11 years, the jokes here still hold up. From a recurring bit about exploding vans, Killer waltzing through a meadow while singing about murder, and a hippie who sings solely about “peace and vegetarianism.” The entire movie feels like a fever dream in the best possible way, built for those who grew up watching Adult Swim sketches on YouTube, reruns of South Park, and those random B-movie slashers you’d randomly watch with friends.

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With a runtime of a little under two hours, the concept does start to wear itself thin by the end. While the charm is still there, the movie still tries to bring in more conflicts for the characters in the last 10 minutes, throwing almost everything at the wall. The musical numbers do make up for quite a bit. The movie does the most with its limited budget, finding ways to make the musical numbers as entertaining as possible, without needing an entire choreographed dance for every single one.

It’s not just Maran who’s the only one who had fun making Chainsaws Were Singing, as the entire cast makes the most of their roles, perfectly complimenting the movie’s zany tone. Ruus plays Killer like he’s in a Broadway show, with moments like his iconic chainsaw solo cementing the film as something that needs to be seen with a packed and rowdy audience. Puusepp is another major standout as the happy-go-lucky Jaan, a character that could have easily been irritating, but instead encapsulates both the movie’s heartfelt moments and its absurdist sense of humor. The romance between Niils and Ilves’ Maria and Tom is always portrayed as goofy and over-the-top, but the way they play off each other and the other cast members also brings a sense of sweetness to the movie.

Maran and his cast’s passion is on full display throughout the entirety of Chainsaws Were Singing. It’s a movie that, on paper, doesn’t seem like it should work; yet it does. The creative and unfiltered nature helps cement this musical horror comedy as a future cult classic. It may have taken 11 years for the movie to finally be seen, but it was well worth the wait.

REVIEW

Chainsaws Were Singing (2024)

From its knack for blood, catchy tunes, and massive heart, ‘Chainsaws Were Singing’ is a delight from start to finish.

Release Date

April 26, 2024

Director

Sander Maran

Cast

Karl-Joosep Ilves , Laura Niils , Janno Puusepp , Martin Ruus , Rita Rätsepp , Mart Toome , Ra Ragnar Novod , Henryk Johan Novod

Runtime

117 Minutes

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Sander Maran , Karl-Joosep Ilves

Pros

• Sander Maran’s passion is on full display, finding creative ways to tell his story with a limited budget.
• The cast is fully committed to bringing their goofy characters to life.
• Despite being filmed over a decade ago, the humor is still incredibly effective.

Cons

• The two-hour runtime causes the movie to begin to wear out its concept.

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Chainsaws Were Singing had its World Premiere at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival.