Winner of 2005’s Project Greenlight, the screenwriting contest show created by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Feast is a surprisingly gory, low-budget monster movie with echoes of Alien, Evil Dead, Dog Soldiers, and especially From Dusk Till Dawn. A group of mostly unlikable people find themselves trapped in a seedy bar in nowheresville. As the film begins we see these barflies doing what barflies do; shooting pool, drinkin’, fussin’, feudin’, and fuckin’. Moments after the opening credits conclude an “action hero” bursts though the doors bloody, battered, and bearing an uncanny resemblance to Ash from the Evil Dead films, which come to think of it, was probably an homage. Ash-homage informs everyone that “they’re coming” and to prepare for the fight of their lives. A horrible creature then consumes Ash. That’s pretty much it. The rest of the film follows the surviving gang as they attempt to thwart an evil creature onslaught.
Feast is a lot of silly, monster fun. As the film begins it is clear that the writers intended this to be Evil Dead 2-ridiculous. As each character is introduced, we get a freeze frame with their stats and survival likelihood, such as this example.
What I really liked about Feast was the way the writers screwed with our horror movie expectations. By killing off the “action hero” immediately, they set the stage for more unexpected surprises that will please you. Make no mistake, this film is gory, just make sure you watch the unrated version. Overall Feast is a very satisfying monster movie in the capable hands of individuals with an obvious love of the genre.
1 comment:
I'd never heard of this until it played at the theater where my roommate works...in September. Sheesh. Who watches horror movies in September?
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