Feast

This movie is bad...really bad. But it's also fun...kinda. The premise is simple enough. The plot follows a dozen or so misfits trapped in bar at night with blood thirsty creatures outside. It's sort of a comedic cross between Alien and Tremors. Unfortunately the sly humor isn't enough to save the movie.

I have been waiting for this movie for two years now. I first heard about it during my addiction to the "Project Greenlight" series, a competition with script writers and directors. The winning director gets to produce the winning script, and the show follows the whole production process. The series was absolutely fantastic. It's a shame none of the movies they produced were that memorable (in addition to Feast there was The Battle of Shaker Heights, and Stolen Summer). The movie was put on the table for a while because of the departure of the Weinstein brothers from Miramax/Dimension. After some debate, they took Feast with them and released it on video. Unfortunately, it wasn't so much worth the wait.

The directing is very tongue in cheek, with winning director John Gulager winking at the audience the entire time. This starts from the very beginning as the characters are introduced along with their "life expectancy." This movie knows that it's a horror movie, knows that it's bad, and has fun with it. In a way I respect a movie that's just out there to entertain. Too bad it wasn't more entertaining.

The strongest aspect of Feast is actually the cast. Surprisingly they were very good. The ensemble is filled out by an eclectic mix of characters who are there solely to provide tasty tidbits for the monsters. Despite the limited depth to the characters, they are played very well. The cast features relative unknowns including Gulager's wife and father (he wanted to cast more family and friends, but the producers put the ca bosh on that). Henry Rollins is cast in a very anti-Henry Rollins role- a motivational speaker. This is just an example of some of the subtle humor at play here.

This movie essentially functions as a medium for blood. I love horror movies, and at heart, I am a gore hound. I did get a kick out of this movie and it's cheesy effects. There is little to no digital effects, so everything was done using traditional on set effects. This means lots and lots of blood.

Perhaps I enjoyed this movie more knowing what happened during the making. The DVD features some nice "making of" vignettes, but I strongly recommend getting your hands on the Project Greenlight series. It was interesting seeing the product of that endeavour. Unfortunately, despite the humor, and me getting my jollies from those gruesome effects, this movie is just not good.

2/5