Feast (Unrated Edition) [Import]

I saw this movie this past weekend at one of its very rare theatrical screenings (which happened to be at the theater where co-screenwater Marcus Dunstan used to work in Macomb, IL). What the film lacks in originality and budget it makes up for in attitude and ends up a fun, entertaining movie. The plot is a simple rehash of From Dusk Til Dawn, only this time it's monsters/aliens(?) attacking the bar, and the people are trapped inside, defending themselves like the folks in both the original and remake of Night of the Living Dead. The writers know what the audience expects from a film like this, so they throw a monkey wrench in here and there to dispel a few of the B-movie horror cliches, their tongues planted firmly in cheek. This movie is down right hilarious, but there are a few surprise moments. Don't expect to be scared, but there is plenty of blood and gore. As one person said on another site, the only element missing from the classic late 80's horror flicks is the gratuitous nudity - No T&A!!! (Just a little bare cleavage). The character profiles which pop up when the characters are first introduced have a Tarentino feel to them, and are a hoot. If you like From Dusk Til Dawn, Jeepers Creepers, the Evil Dead or Tales From the Crypt movies, or Return of the Living Dead, then this movie is a must see.

This movie isn't perfect, but I'm giving 5 stars for effort. Despite the low budget and no name actors, Feast delivers a fast paced, gory and wildly entertaining ride that undoubtedly deserves more respect than many big studio horror films. Special Kudos to the film's first act, which has to be one of the most original set up's in horror history. The only problem Feast really suffers from is the formulaic structure. Some reviews complain Feast lacks a plot and they're right. The story is very simple. An eclectic group of people find themselves barracaded in a rural bar while a family of deadly abject monsters with huge teeth lurk around outside. What the monsters are or where they came from is only briefly explored but it doesn't matter. The story is about the humans trying to outwit the monsters and survive. Its substance comes from the sub plot which pits man against man inside the bar. A couple of pop culture icons do appear, most notably Henry Rollins and Jason Mewes, but overall the cast is a group of new faces. Fortunately, most of them do the best job they possibly could given the dialogue and deserve recognition for helping make Feast the entertaining gore-fest it turned out to be.

Ok. Yes. The movie is not original. The monsters, well, we've seen those kinds before. The characters, of course these are cliche characters, the movie practically points that out to you. Yet the movie is probably the best American horror movie I've seen in the past year. I'll compare this to another movie I saw yesterday (I saw Feast movie just a while ago), that movie was another cliche movie called Are You Scared. That movie compared to this movie shows just how a cliche can work well (as in Feast) and work badly (as in Are You Scared). Both copy what we've seen before, but Feast revels in the passion, the gore, the humor, something that the other cliche lacks. Yes. Nothing new under the sun you might as well say, at least in the horror genre, but this can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you know your work in your hands. The people that bring us Feast know what we want, know what we like, and presents it in such a twist that keeps us glued to the action throughout the whole movie...something that many other movies out there in the horror field lack these days. I really hope that the director of this, along with the actors and actresses, along with the special effects people, go a long way and will be seen again. The movie kind of reminds me of an early Stephen King (as in The Mist or Pet Semetary) or Clive Barker (Books of Blood), fast, furious, bloody, funny, and want we want in our horror.