A Symphony of Laughs and Screams Await in Horror Rom Com Musical Chainsaws Were Singing (FANTASTIC)

Title: Chainsaws Were Singing

First Non-Festival Release: TBD

Director: Sander Maran

Writer: Sander Maran, Karl Ilves

Runtime: 117 Minutes

Starring: Karl-Joosep Ilves, Laura Niils, Martin Ruus, Janno Puusepp

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2024.

An Estonian horror rom com musical about chainsaw wielding cannibals is exciting enough on concept alone. Chainsaws Were Singing takes the absurdity further by delivering a premiere midnight madness experience with its approach.

Before attempting suicide, Tom (Karl-Joosep Ilves) meets Maria (Laura Niils) on the worst day of her life before they decide to date. Their momentary bliss is interrupted by Killer (Martin Ruus) knocking out Tom and abducting Maria. Tom teams up with Jaan (Janno Puusepp) to rescue Maria from Killer and his cannibalistic family. Of course, they can’t do this without navigating their feelings through song and dance.

As ridiculous as it sounds, Chainsaws Were Singing is a triumphantly dumb genre mishmash that pleases every step of the way.

Throughout its nearly two-hour journey, Chainsaws Were Singing takes every opportunity to subvert expectations with how its story progresses. Throughout the film, writer/director Sander Maran constantly puts his characters in situations where the boldest, most outlandish choice is made. From sudden character deaths to left field sub-plots, Tom’s journey of saving Maria is anything but direct. That’s the joy within Chainsaws Were Singing. Its insistence on misdirection and absurdity allows for the audience to truly engage with the inherent silliness that can exist within musicals, romantic comedies, and, yes, even horror. 

Hokey musical numbers, cheeky dialogue, and baffling characterizations add up to deliver a true B-movie experience. What really sells Chainsaws Were Singing, however, is the over-the-top performances of its ensemble cast. Janno Puusepp plays the lovably clueless Jaan with earnest while Karl-Joosep Ilves and Laura Niils lean into the dopiness of Tom and Maria’s puppy love. This extends to the killer family too. Rita Rätsepp delivers an appropriately unhinged performance as Killer’s Mother while Martin Russ gets to dial up the insanity as Killer processes through his unexpectedly wide range of emotions throughout the film.

The team behind Chainsaws Were Singing knows exactly what audiences are expecting when queuing up for a movie with its plot synopsis. And they absolutely deliver on that. Gory beyond belief, Chainsaws Were Singing features a menagerie of creative and delightfully hilarious kill sequences. Not content with sticking solely to chainsaws, the cannibalistic clan wields a variety of instruments of death to achieve their goal of killing and eating people that wander in their paths. Exhaust pipes, trains, and surprises found inside seemingly abandoned refrigerators all make for wickedly fun death scenes. The practical effects range from clearly limited to surprisingly gruesome, depending on the desired tone of the scene. For most of Chainsaws Were Singing, the gore is center stage and treated with reverence, while unimportant things, like explosions, are treated as hilarious afterthoughts. 

While not the focus, the music of Chainsaws Were Singing does leave something to be desired, both lyrically and vocally. Strained voices and harsh melodies abound in the musical making some of the numbers more painful than others. Maran has admitted to having a distaste for musicals, at least in the traditional way they are made, and it shows in how the music shapes Chainsaws Were Singing. Even though the songs lack polish, the comedic chops cannot be understated. Each number has at least one or two excellent jabs tucked away, making each character’s aside more entertaining.

Its zaniness may not be sustainable for its runtime, but that doesn’t stop Chainsaws Were Singing from delivering exactly what it sets out to do. Sure, it’s rough around the edges and the humor gets niche at times, but there’s a beautiful heart to this indie film that makes it unshakable all the same. Horror fans seeking out the weird, the bold, and the fantastic will be excited to hear the delightful symphony that erupts from Chainsaws Were Singing once it hits a wider audience sometime in the future.

Overall Score? 7/10