Retrospective: Feast (2005)

[David N. Butterworth]

FEAST (2005)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2016 David N. Butterworth

**1/2 (out of ****)

What's interesting about "Feast," a
patrons-trapped-in-a-bar-and-forced-to-fight-off-voracious-critters movie
from first-time director John Gulager, is that, unless you've seen the
trailer, you won't have an earthly as to what these monsters are, exactly,
and where on earth they came from. The trailer, however, spells things out
quite specifically--for those who prefer their heavy servings of gore
unencumbered by plot contrivances you can skip the next tell-all paragraph:
"West Texas: the desert. A weapon has been created. It is
undetectable. It is untraceable. It is unstoppable. It is alive. Before
it can be used on our enemies it must be tested. On us."
It's just curious that this rather forthright explanation is nowhere
to be found in the finished film. Our hero (the first of many) just shows
up at the bar, bloodied and battered, and tells its motley occupants that a
storm o'hell is about to reign down on them and that they'd better start
battening down the hatches pronto like. There is some preamble involving a
car crash but it goes no further in revealing the imminent threat to this
seedy watering hole in the Chihuahuan Desert. The script for "Feast," by
Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, was the winner of the third season of
the Ben Affleck/Matt Damon-executive produced documentary series "Project
Greenlight" (in which novice filmmakers vie for a chance to direct a
feature film). Perhaps the promotions people felt its coming attraction
reel needed to provide a little more backstory.
But anyway. We're introduced to our delightful dinner guests Hero,
Bozo, Harley Mom, Coach, Honey Pie, Tuffy, Edgy Cat, Hot Wheels, Vet,
Heroine, Boss Man, Grandma, and Beer Guy bright and early--and somewhat
tongue-in-cheekily--via those sepia-toned, Tarantino-esque freeze-frame
title boards. You know the type:
Name: Beer Guy.
Occupation: Beer Guy & Part-Time Host at Red Lobster.
Life Expectancy: Losers and Dorks Go First... He's Both.
These nicely establish the mood, since we quickly know what to expect,
especially in terms of the film's spirited tone. The humor proves
diverting, since the mayhem of the creature attacks is shot and edited in
such an unvaryingly nutzoid and gut-spilling style that figuring out what's
afoot, or getting a good gander at the monsters themselves, isn't really an
option. Another unexpected blessing is that the women here are a *lot*
quicker to step up to the macho plate than the menfolk. The creatures
don't seem to value equal opportunity filmmaking as much, mind you--they'll
pretty much munch on anything, and do.
Among the name performers in "Feast," which spawned two tasty sequels,
2008's "Feast II: Sloppy Seconds" and "Feast III: The Happy Finish" in
2009, are Balthazar Getty (Life Expectancy: Dead By Dawn), Jason Mewes
(Life Expectancy: Already Surpassed Expectations), and veteran Clu Gulager,
the director's dad, who tends bar (Life Expectancy: Horrifying Death in 70
Minutes). The unrated version, by the way, is about five seconds longer
than the theatrical release--long enough to squeeze in that weapon's-grade
conspiracy preface, perhaps? I wouldn't count on it.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterwo...@gmail.com