Home Kills

Two vastly different brothers inherit their parents' struggling butchery in this darkly humourous film from Aotearoa New Zealand. In order to keep the butcher business alive, they must think hard about what—or who—they kill.

"Times are tough in the rural town of Mata and nobody knows that better than brothers Tom (Cameron Jones) and Mark (Josh McKenzie) who, following the suspicious death of their father, have begrudgingly inherited the family 'home kills' business. With his first child on the way and a loose-cannon of a sibling to deal with, Tom soon finds himself wrestling with some ghoulish ideas for business development.

"Livelihoods are drying up in the forgotten little town and what small need there is for humane killing and butchery services is quickly being swooped up by the big, out-of-town companies. Tom is committed to making the business work and establishing his young family in the childhood home, even if the town doesn’t care much for him. The family trade is a last resort for Mark, whose impulsiveness and irresponsibility seem to have exhausted all other avenues, and with his disabled hand he encounters difficulties on the job. Desperately as they both need the work, the money just isn’t there."

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