When Project Greenlight was started, it was mainly a way for Miramax to find the next Good Will Hunting. After two seasons on HBO, and two dud movies, the show was pretty much on the choppingblock. Bravo saved the show when it purchased season three, but after poor ratings the show's network schedule was shortened and it was over before anyone really saw it. The film Season three produced was Feast, a horror/comedy from first time director John Gulager. On the show, Gulager came off as a complete failure, pissing off executives as well as actors with his inexperience. The film was supposed to be released in January 2006, but was later shelved and finally released in theaters late September. With little marketing budget or backing, the film came out just three weeks later on DVD. So is Feast the total flop that Greenlight and Weinstein want us to think it is?
In short, not at all. In fact Feast is filled with more gory goodness then most horror films these days. The basic premise is Evil Dead in a bar, just switch the zombies with giant monsters. Unlike most Hollywood scarefests Feast never takes itself too seriously. It's filled with tons of funny but cheesy lines, and did I mention gore? Feast uses the excess gore, slime, and semen to add to the film's ridiculous premise. The characters all play their parts pretty well, in that cliched horror film way. The writers even joke about these cliches by giving a ten second bio at the intro of each character, even hinting at time of death. The film may be short, but the death list is long, with even a few surprises along the way.
What results is a quick (sometimes too quick) and funny horror film, that will surely become somewhat of a cult classic. It may not be the most original horror film out there, but that doesn't matter. It's still a lot more fun then at least half of the Hollywood remakes that have been crapped out over the last few years. It's amazing that the Weinstein Company didn't put more of a marketing push behind this release. It's a sad truth that the most original horror films this year, Feast, Slither, and The Descent, seemed to get passed off by audiences for dreck like The Grudge 2. In the end, it will be word of mouth and DVD sales that may ultimately make Feast much more then a studio failure, but a cult classic. Despite what picture Greenlight painted, Gulager's Feast comes off as an excellent debut, and the best Greenlight funded film to date.
8.0/10.0 - A Gory Good Time.