The third and final movie from the Project Greenlight contest that was the brainchild of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, director John Gulager's Feast is an old-fashioned, barebones horror flick about a group of people trapped in an isolated building—in this case, a remote desert bar—by a bunch of flesh-eating monsters. The effects are awful, the attempts at cleverness (like the cheesy freeze-frame descriptions used to introduce the characters) are strictly adolescent gibes, and the camerawork is so close-in and blurry that viewers are likely to feel a bit dizzy from time to time. But compared to the wretched special-effects horror movies the studios are churning out nowadays, this no-frills flick actually boasts a simple charm, playing like a tribute to the low-budget drive-in features of yesteryear (a southwestern variant of Assault on Precinct 13, perhaps, with beasts replacing gang members as the invading force). And even if the frequent winks toward the audience come across as too knowing and calculated, the film benefits from a few narrative curveballs and a game cast. Feast may be just a mini-budget horror movie with monsters that look less convincing than what many kids can create on their home computers, but if you watch it at midnight with the right attitude and a big bowl of popcorn, it can be fun. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary (by director John Gulager, producers Michael Leahy and Joel Soisson, writers Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, and creature and makeup effects designer Gary Tunnicliffe), the 11-minute “making-of” featurette “Horror Under the Spotlight,” “The Blood and Guts of Gary Tunnicliffe” (10 min.), five deleted scenes including an alternate ending (8 min.), three minutes of outtakes, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a better-than-average horror flick.] (F. Swietek)
Feast
Dimension, 92 min., not rated, DVD: $28.99, Oct. 17 Volume 21, Issue 6
Feast
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