It's hard to deny the allure of the sensational title.  Dawn of the Dead has a hook, as does My Stepmother Is An Alien, and both of these examples do a fine job of telling the viewer immediately what to expect.  Not so with Olly Blackburn's Donkey Punch, which provides only a small glimpse into the subject matter.

Blackburn is the co-writer of Vinyan, and so is not unfamiliar with films that straddle the dramatic and the horrific.  Donkey Punch is, in turn, co-written by David Bloom, new to the world of feature films.  Together, Bloom and Blackburn have taken the oft-Googled titular phrase and turned it into the launching pad for an examination of what happens when a group of young people make a series of bad and rash decisions.

Donkey Punch begins with three girls, Tammi, Lisa and Kim (Nichola Burley, Sian Breckin and Jaime Winstone, respectively) getting away from their English home to help Tammi heal after a bad relationship has ended.  They make for Spain, where they dress to the nines and flirt at the local bars.  At one such bar, they come across Marcus, Josh and Bluey (Jay Taylor, Julian Morris and Tom Burke) who entice them away from the bar scene with the promise of a yacht all to themselves.  The girls eventually agree, and follow the boys back, all young and full of a sense of optimism over the party-to-be.

Once they board, acting captain Sean (Robert Boulter) begrudgingly agrees to allow Bluey, Marcus and younger brother Josh to bring the girls aboard.  In short order, the seven young young adults are heading out to see to crank up the music, do some swimming and take a lot of drugs.  During an off-color conversation, the topic of the donkey punch comes up, along with the dirty sanchez and other sexual phenomena (and I will not digress to explain these acts... you have the internet).  As Tammi and

Sean begin to forge something deeper than a casual party vibe, the rest of the group head below deck to engage in some sexual hijinx.  When Josh takes his turn with Lisa, he attempts the donkey punch in the heat of the moment, resulting in the sudden and surprising death of his would-be partner, all caught on videotape by Bluey.

It's at this point that Donkey Punch rises above the sensational title and begins to explore what happens when people under duress find their relationships and allegiances splinter, and they begin to make choices that become increasingly deadly in their repercussions.  Donkey Punch is another film released by Magnet, who are the fine people who delivered unto us Timecrimes

Timecrimes and Let the Right One In.  As part of their Six-Shooter series, Donkey Punch turns out to be the weakest entry thus far, but not without its merits.

Blackburn crafts a competently-shot and well-paced film, but this movie is haunted by shots that are reminiscent of the old Friday the 13th films, where you see an attacker raise a weapon, begin to lower, then are treated with the insert shot of weapon meeting flesh, then the cutaway to the bloody outcome.  This happens a handful of times in the film, and it is always distracting, if somewhat interesting on an effects level.  Likewise, a couple of the bloodier moments seem to transcend the logic that has followed the film to that point, so that the violence appears to be more concept than extension of character.

Those imperfections considered, it's also important to say that the movie does a great job of building some nice tense moments, and not all of the more exciting moments are unbelievable.  Most, in fact, are very natural and, at their best, surprising and satisfying.  What Donkey Punch does best, though, is to see fairly decent people collapse under the weight of a single moment, when the world changes forever and the fallout is impossible to consider.  When the movie is following its theme, it works as an unapologetically aggressive thriller that satisfies as enjoyable viewing, if not a must-see event.

weapon, begin to lower, then are treated with the insert shot of weapon meeting flesh, then the cutaway to the bloody outcome.  This happens a handful of times in the film, and it is always distracting, if somewhat interesting on an effects level.  Likewise, a couple of the bloodier moments seem to transcend the logic that has followed the film to that point, so that the violence appears to be more concept than extension of character.