NZIFF 2025 Craccum Coverage | Bring Them Down
Blood, Sheep, and Ireland
Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down touches on fractured families, long standing grudges, and revenge, in a gory drama set in rural Ireland. Following main character Michael O’shea through his decision making on what to do, after someone begins interfering with the sheep on his farm. Christopher Abbott masterfully portrays this brooding main character, and impressively speaks Irish Gaelic for almost half of his dialogue which he learnt specifically for the film. It might’ve been a thought to have a local native Irish gaeilge speaker and actor to fill the role of O’shea, however not to discredit Abbott’s excellent performance.
Andrews does a phenomenal job at shifting perspectives on a narrative to keep it exciting. Writing in such a way that the audience slowly unravels characters' details in twists and turns as we piece the story together.
Whilst written excellently, and shot expertly, which I can appreciate, ultimately this film is just not for me. Please stop reading now if you want no spoilers whatsoever.
To be quite frank, gore is just not for me, and the animal mutilation in this film was too much. It felt pointless and excessive, and I understand Andrews is trying to elicit some intense response from the viewer, but I just could not see the justification for it. If you are someone that is unbothered by gore, or sees the value in depicting animal mutilation, maybe you will enjoy this film more than I did. At points it just felt like a really tough watch.
I think Andrews built the atmosphere extremely well, with the grey skies and dirt of an Irish farming lifestyle feeling extremely tangible. However, at times it felt excessively bleak and as the credits rolled I felt as if I was searching for the purpose of the film. The gems of character depth that we were gifted lead nowhere, nor were explored in any meaningful way.
Now although it’s not for me, it may be for you. If you enjoy gore and know that violence against animals is something you can deal with, and are looking for a film that is an entertaining revenge plot, Bring Them Down is the one to see.
