Donkey Punch

A donkey punch is a sexual practice which involves the penetrating partner punching the receiving partner in the back of the neck during intercourse to try and cause involuntary muscle spasms in an attempt to increase the intensity of the penetrating partner's orgasm. So there you have it, from the title of the film you know exactly what to expect, and that's sex and violence aplenty. This all comes about after three holidaymaking girls from Leeds meet four lads in a Spanish club and it’s not long before they take their party onto a luxury yacht. After consuming a vast amount of alcohol and a concoction of drugs, naturally, an orgy ensues – it is then aforementioned donkey punch is administered, with deadly consequences.

The film sets up rather well, the opening sequences are soaked in sunshine and are riveting despite the lack of likeability of the characters. The story is constructed seamlessly and when the horrific incident does eventually occur there is a chilling feasibility to the tale, after all isn't this what youths might do on holiday...drink, do drugs, have sex (just minus the touch of death mid-orgy). The relatively unknown cast are all competent, albeit hardly stretched (Tom Burke is particularly enjoyable as the odious Bluey), and after half an hour you're enjoying Olly Blackburn's edgy debut. However, the donkey punch does not only deliver Lisa (Sian Breckin) a killer blow, but it also delivers one to the film as it struggles for the remainder of it's running time.

As the boys make a series of bad decisions, starting with dumping the dead body in the ocean, everything seems almost too perfectly set up for a bloodbath, in stark contrast to the first act. Every plot point veers the narrative closer and closer to the inevitable violence and when it does erupt 'Donkey Punch' merely treads over familiar ground. Even the deaths are unimaginative and sometimes unintentionally amusing, there were too many times that I found myself laughing when I'm sure this wasn't the filmmakers' intentions. You can't even reserve too much sympathy for the victims, none are blameless so even the nicer amongst the bunch of 'slags, chavs and slimeballs' you won't shed a tear for.

Verdict: Starts well but gets lost when things look set to get tasty. Half of a good film only serves to highlight the steep decline, although both the cast and director show signs of greater potential.