This 80s throwback is very straightforward. Club kids set up a rave in a suspicious abandoned building and get killed by a guy with an anvil on a stick. (Inexplicably assisted by a few monstrous cannibals.) Well, you know what they say. “Who will survive and what will be left of them?” That sums it up. The rest is all sex and violence.
Be warned, readers – this is not for people who don’t want to hear frequent explicit talk about sexual acts. In fact, this covers most of the film’s dialogue that doesn’t involve running or screaming. The director seems pretty obsessed with male genitalia, using it in all sorts of ways, sexual and otherwise. If you’re easily offended, take a pass on this one.
On the plus side, the film makes good use of its practical effects. No shitty CGI here. The gore looks good, they don’t hold back, and they aren’t afraid to smash a body through a chain-link fence. (Possibly the best moment in the film.) Its villain, named only “The Beast”, has a good look going on as well, wearing furs, a welder’s mask, and using the aforementioned stick-anvil.
There’s a little Return of the Living Dead vibe happening here (I just wanna party!) and that helps. Sweatshop isn’t breaking any new ground, but it’s dumb fun for fans of gore, 80s style dance breaks (5 in total! We counted!), gross-out laughs and trashy sex.
