Can a vegetarian butcher exact revenge for the murder of his father 20 years earlier while wooing a rich man’s daughter?
That’s the question asked in “La Soga,” a bloody thriller set in the Dominican Republic, with flashbacks to Washington Heights.
Manny Perez is the film’s Renaissance man, taking the lead role as well as writing and producing. His performance is strong as Luisito, who works as an undercover hit man for the government, all the while plotting his revenge.
He also moonlights as a butcher, slaughtering pigs for rich folks to serve at parties. A childhood sweetheart returns to town, offering Luisito a chance at redemption, but will he take it?
If animal slaughter makes you queasy, this movie isn’t for you. Along with several cockfights, there’s a long scene in which a pig is butchered. The folks at PETA would be most unhappy.
People don’t fare much better than the animals, with blood flowing in a seemingly unending barrage of violence.
For some reason, the film, directed by Josh Crook, has a schmaltzy happy ending that’s out of step with the rest of the story.