Feast
2005 Action Horror Film
This was the official website for the 2005 American action horror film, Feast.
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From Wikipedia
Feast (2005 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Feast is a 2005 American action horror film directed by John Gulager, produced by Michael Leahy, Joel Soisson, Larry Tanz and Andrew Jameson. It was written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton and stars Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Navi Rawat, Judah Friedlander, Jenny Wade, Gulager's father Clu Gulager, Josh Zuckerman and Jason Mewes. The story revolves around a group of innocent people and tough men inside a local abandoned bar in Nevada, where they are suddenly assaulted by a horde of huge and twisted monstrous creatures.
Feast is a result of the amateur filmmaking documentary series and contest Project Greenlight's third season. The winning team was composed of writers Dunstan and Melton and director Gulager. It was executive produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore (through their LivePlanet production company), Wes Craven and the Maloof family.
The film was limited released in the United States on September 22, 2006 and premiered on Chicago International Film Festival on April 14, 2005. Upon its release, it received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics, while some highly praised the cast performances as well as the story's humor. It grossed only $658 thousand against a production budget of $3 million.
Plot
As people are enjoying drinks in a bar, a man covered in blood—identified onscreen as "Hero" (Eric Dane)—enters through the door and warns them all of impending danger. No one heeds his warning, so he shows the bar patrons the head of a repulsive creature to make them take him seriously. He is soon pulled through a window and decapitated by one of the monsters. After the carnage, a woman—"Heroine" (Navi Rawat)—bursts through the door and reveals herself to be the recently deceased man's wife. After a brief sentimental moment between the wife and her late husband, the bar patrons begin boarding up the windows in the bar. Despite their efforts, a young monster bursts through an uncovered window and begins attacking. As a monster outside bursts its hand through "Vet" (Anthony "Treach" Criss), "Edgy Cat" (Jason Mewes) has his face torn off and is accidentally shot dead, and the little monster cuts off the leg of one of the women — "Harley Mom" (Diane Ayala Goldner)—who is initially assumed to have died from massive blood loss.
The monster disappears for some time, then is found attempting to sexually penetrate one of the deer heads nailed to the wall. A shotgun blast removes the deer head and monster. The monster drops into a freezer which is then sealed shut, trapping it inside. Following this, the remaining windows are boarded up and the bar patrons are given a moment of peace. Trying to call for help, they learn that the only phone in the bar has been hit by a stray shotgun blast and rendered useless. One of the women—"Tuffy" (Krista Allen)—suddenly realizes that her son Cody (Tyler Patrick Jones) is still upstairs and runs to get him. Once she finds her child the group rejoices until the boy is pulled through a window and eaten by one of the monsters, leaving only his sneaker behind. Tuffy is incapacitated by grief, while the monster vomits a stream of slime at one of the group—"Beer Guy" (Judah Friedlander). As the remaining people regroup downstairs, they realize that the slime has a decomposing effect and that Beer Guy is being slowly overcome by its effects.
The group kills the young monster in the freezer and hangs it outside. The monster's parents quickly eat the child, have sex and produce two offspring in a matter of seconds, all of whom begin to attack the pub with renewed fury. Meanwhile, one of the women—"Honey Pie" (Jenny Wade)—begins washing off the blood and has to take off her clothes, much to the amusement of the others. The patrons regroup and enact various attempts to escape or drive off the monsters, including using Harley Mom's body as bait while the Heroine and the "Coach" (Henry Rollins) attempt to escape. Upon discovering she's still alive, "Bossman" (Duane Whitaker) continues to sacrifice her to the creatures. The distraction fails, leading to the accidental death of the Heroine at the hands of another character, "Bozo" (Balthazar Getty). Driven by rage over the death of her child, Tuffy aggressively takes charge of the remaining survivors, which results in the audience seeing her nickname change from "Tuffy" to "Heroine 2". After "Coach" and "Bossman" are killed, "Honey Pie" successfully makes it to a truck, giving the other characters brief cause for hope (until they realize she is speeding off by herself).
A fight to the death between the last remaining humans and monsters ensues, resulting in the deaths of "Beer Guy" and supposedly the "Bartender" (Clu Gulager). Bozo, his brother Hot Wheels (Josh Zuckerman), and Tuffy (Heroine 2) survive, and drive off to retrieve the Heroine and Hero's daughter. One person—"Grandma" (Eileen Ryan)—seems to survive but is attacked by one of the remaining monsters.
ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS REVIEWS
September 22, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
Kyle Smith New York Post Top Critic
This no-budget Project Greenlight production (the third and last) is a fountain of wit as well as gore.
+++++
September 22, 2006 | Rating: 2/5
Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel Top Critic
[Director John Gulager] shows a little flair for the genre, though the editing is so frenetic you really can't see what's going on (a blessing, considering how cheesy the monsters look and move).
+++++
October 2, 2006
Richard James Havis Hollywood Reporter Top Critic
It works as a funny and slicker-than-expected parody of the genre.
+++++
September 23, 2006 | Rating: C-
Scott Tobias AV Club Top Critic
Who knows what might have happened if he had the time and the leverage to smooth out the rough edges, but material this junky can only be salvaged for so much scrap.
+++++
September 22, 2006 | Rating: 1/4
Peter Hartlaub San Francisco Chronicle Top Critic
While the reality television series that chronicled the making of this low-budget horror film last year was extremely entertaining, the piece of cinema that resulted is kind of a bore.
+++++
September 21, 2006 | Rating: 0/4
James Berardinelli ReelViews Top Critic
The word 'unwatchable' is overused when it comes to bad movies, but this is a case when its employment does not represent hyperbole.
ROTTEN TOMATOES AUDIENCE REVIEWS
**** Ryan S
Jan 02, 2018
4/5. Feast is a really solid creature feature with an excellent set-up and some really fun characters and gore. The only really flaw of the movie is sometimes the editing is too quick and it's hard to tell exactly what's happening, but apart from that, Feast will surely satisfy horror and gore fans.
+++++
*** ½ Deenie C
Mar 22, 2017
I caught "Feast" again on late-night TV -- a film with the perfect mix of horror and a dash of comedy, a ramshackle bar setting, and a wide range of unique characters. Plus, it was damn scary throughout. It was the perfect movie to watch during the beginning of an alcohol intervention for a friend. Having unsuccessful treatments at a rehab center and failing miserably at the 12 step program with abstinence that AA requires, my friend, Jack, was trying a new approach using that considers alcoholism not as a disease, but a symptom of a larger psychological issue. The success rate for AA and other residential 12 step treatment programs is about 10%. Great for that 10%, but not the other 90% who fail. His new program uses pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. The medication is Baclofen that removes or strongly suppresses cravings for alcohol in 92% of people. Initial clinical trials show that Baclofen has a 65% success rate for treatment-resistant alcoholics , allowing them to return to low- or medium-risk drinking. That’s right, this treatment doesn’t require abstinence although many people do stop all drinking. Baclofen doesn’t affect the taste of alcohol or the pleasure of drinking. It simply removes the addictive components that lead to overindulgence and allows a person to drink in moderation, if they so choose to. Doctors in Europe prescribe baclofen as the primary treatment for people who drink excessively. Baclofen treatment does require titration (slow dose increase) until a person’s cravings are completely removed or controlled. It also has some side effects which usually disappear within a few days. Jack had started this new treatment several days ago and needed some distraction. "Feast" proved to be the perfect solution.
+++++
**** Grant H
Feb 13, 2017
Very good movie. While its script could've used a little more work, the film has a lot of unique aspects and clever dialogue, offering a gory sendup to grindhouse and b-monster movies.
+++++
*** ½ Brian S
Dec 04, 2016
I don't think anyone could ever complain that there ain't enough gore in this movie. Heads exploding, eyes being ripped off, organs and blood spraying on the walls, this is one hell of a violent, yet funny little guilty pleasure, which reminds me a lot of Kevin Bacon's Tremors (1990). The actors are alright and the special effects are pretty campy, which also reminds me of Evil Dead 2 (1987). It's a good old fashioned survival, desert, gore film. Recommended !!
+++++
**** Namir G
Aug 14, 2016
- It's like From Dusk Till Dawn, but a little gorier, and has Henry Rollins instead of Salma Hayek. This is acceptable to me. - Ok. 5 people in the bar just died very terribly, everyone's screaming, and the 72yo barfly's like "Meh. Tuesdays." - Oh my. His face just kinda...went away. - The name of the shotgun behind the bar is called "The Judge." - This movie is funny as hell. - Not that part. That was gross even by my standards. - "Relax. We have a shortwave radio." - Ok. I had to pause it to write this next part out. Everyone inside the bar just discovered that the 2 monsters outside terrorizing them are now having sex doggie style outside. Barfly dramatically clicks her keyfob to end the car alarm caused by the monster's shenanigans. - Oh, he doesn't look so good. I think he's, well, I think he's dissolving. - The pretty girl completely soaked in blood, got naked to clean off, is soaked in blood again. I see a theme here. - "What're you gonna do? Throw your teeth at em?" - Henry Rollins is now talking all righteously motivational...while wearing pink sweat pants. - HAHA! The "dead" woman they decided to wire with explosives as a distraction is now kind of alive. #rookiemistakes - That's...different. The monsters are now using Henry Rollins as a battering ram. - And, sports fans, if you'll note that halfway through the movie, the barfly has quietly put out her cigarette and locked herself in the walk-in freezer. The only person at the end of the movie that can claim being alive, no blood on her, has all her limbs, and hasn't fired a gun.
+++++
**** D M
Aug 04, 2016
Judah Friedlander and Henry Rollins are part of a motley group of small town bar patrons holed up in a tavern trying to defend themselves from a family of monsters. The monsters relentlessly attack and are successful in killing many of the people. Some funny stuff, an annoying soundtrack, and too much of that shaky-cam effect which was popular 10 years ago.
+++++
**** Liam M
Jan 01, 2016
Just the right level of mean spirited, super cruel satire. With buckets of blood to compensate for any low points.
Reviews From imdb.com
Kicks butt for a million bucks!
Author: phoenixandrew from Costa Mesa, Orange County, California
24 October 2005
Saw this film at the International Horror & Sci-Fi Festival in Tempe, Arizona last night. This is the first film that I have seen from the "Project Greenlight" series. Since the film was made for only a million bucks, I expected "Feast" to be loaded with lots of things that would show that it was shot on a low budget. Well, there wasn't any CGI special effects and 99% of this film was shot inside the bar, but other than that, I didn't feel anything else was compromised that would affect the quality of the film. In fact, this film kicks more butt than most multi-million dollar horror and sci-fi flicks! "Feast" takes place inside a bar in the middle of the California desert. At one moment, a bloodied man shows up with a dead creature in his hand. He says there are four of them, he doesn't know what they are or where they came from, except that they devour and kill anybody they see. Within minutes, the creatures suddenly show up, the carnage begins and all hell breaks loose.
What I liked most about this film was the comical intros for all the lead characters: "hero", "loser", "expects nothing in life" etc.
Director John Gulager and one of the writers, Marcus Dunstan, chatted with the audience after the screening. According to John, the film was scheduled for a January 2006 release. Unfortunately, the turmoil at the film's distributors has put "Feast" on the shelf at least for now. Hopefully, something could be done to get this film out to the public, word of mouth is already out and "Feast" stands to make millions at the box office.
Horror Sci-Fi Film Festival in Arizona
Author: rosete from United States
24 October 2005
I made it to a screening of "Feast" at the International Horror Sci-Fi Film Festival in Arizona on October 23rd. I was really into the Project Greenlight show and from watching the show, I still didn't know what to expect from the film. It wasn't too long into the movie that I realized, even if you watched every episode of Project Greenlight as I did, you still don't see this coming. The movie was great! I sat back in my seat and went for a ride. It wasn't even 100% completed yet. A couple of scenes were too dark and it didn't have any credits. But it was so entertaining. They made this project for the horror genre, and they aren't going to let anyone down. There is so much blood, gore, and action in this film. The action sequences were a sight to see on the big screen. I was truly blown away with how good everything came out. John was there with his girlfriend Diane and one of the writers. They did a Q&A after the screening and were very outgoing with the audience. After the screening they joined me and a bunch of Arizona talent at a nearby bar to hang out. He answered questions and was very cool to chat with. I hope they don't have any problems with getting this movie into theaters nation wide. It's a fun story with everything you want in a horror movie. You have to check it out when you get the chance.
Great late night film
Author: Jake from Chicago, USA
15 October 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I saw this movie last night at the Chicago Film Festival. This movie is not one that will change lives or addresses pressing social issues. Though it would be easy for somebody to say that it is a metaphor for our day and time with terrorist threats and all, but somebody even could do that with Cheaper by the Dozen. So anyway about Feast, it's a great film to watch.
The premise is very simple a bunch of strangers are locked in a bar for the night as monsters try and get in. There really isn't much more to it and that is where the beauty of this film lies. I have heard that Marcus, one of the writers described this as a movie that you start watching on TBS at 2 am and you don't finish, which is a great description for it.
The performances are pretty strong because the actors seem so relaxed in them. The best performances come from Balthazar Getty, Duane Whitaker, Clu Gulgar, Krista Allen, and Josh Zuckerman. The work of the Thomas L Callaway the cinematographer is great, especially in the final showdown scene, some may complain about not being able to see but the red color that covers the scene is great. The final shot of Krista Allen behind the rising sun is just beautiful, even if it is only a simple horror movie.
The main credit goes to John Gulager, whom despite all the "drama" shown on Project Greenlight, has crafted a really enjoyable film. He took all the raw elements of the production and crafted just an amazing final product. This is a movie that I will suggest to people who just want to enjoy themselves in a theater.
Wow
Author: respero1138 from Austin, Texas, United States
10 October 2005
I just saw this at the first annual Fantastic Fest Film Festival in Austin, Texas and I liked it so much I felt compelled to write a review of it.
This is simply one of the best horror movies I have ever seen. I don't know much about film distribution, but it amazes and saddens me that this isn't in wide release ranking somewhere in the top 10 current films. Horror movies usually don't scare me, but this one genuinely did. It was also really funny, and the way the movie plays with character stereotypes had me guessing as to which character was going to get it next. There were moments when I was seriously shocked by the blatant violation of standard horror conventions. It takes real talent to play with clichés so effectively. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is a straight to video deal either, this is a well crafted and filmed movie. If you like genre films like Evil Dead, Tremors, or just like horror in general, you HAVE to check this one out, if you get a chance. Unfortunately, you may have to wait for DVD.
Awesome Horror Movie
Author: kdskoda from Savannah, GA
31 October 2005
I saw this film tonight at the Savannah Film Festival and I loved it. I'm not really into horror movies but this was just a good movie. It was funny, suspenseful, and well-made. I watched Project Greenlight and was not really expecting much tonight and I had a great time. This movie should definitely be released in theaters very soon. The entire audience of probably 800 people was very into it and gave it a standing ovation at the end. The studio made a big mistake not releasing it in time for Halloween. John Gulager, Mike Leahy, and Dianne who played Harley Momma have been here all weekend trying to get the word out about the movie and they have definitely been the toast of the festival.
Feast is a great movie...let's get it released!
Author: surfing7890 from Chicago
17 October 2005
I had a chance to catch a screening of "Feast" at the Chicago Film Festival. I hadn't caught the latest installment of Project Greenlight and hadn't even heard of the movie until a week ago, so I came in without any expectations.
At the least, it's got cult classic written all over it: --campy, smart writing --quirky characters that are developed enough to give them dimension without plummeting the depths of their personalities (it is a horror flick) --a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously --outrageously funny (more than you can say of other cult classics that have somehow survived)...I haven't laughed out loud that much since Meet the Parents (the original!) --totally scared the crap out of me numerous times --a plot that defies predictability, but doesn't collapse as a result of it
And for all those reasons, there's got to be a good chance it's at least going to be a sleeper hit...one that certainly appeals to the horror flick crowd, but is smart enough to draw others (like myself) that are just looking for a great, well-written, well-produced movie. Add the project greenlight junkies to that eclectic mix of audience draw...and, tell me again, why are the studios having trouble releasing it?
Everything you've always wanted to happen. Thanks.
Author: aTomProject from United States
1 November 2005
I was lucky enough to see this film at the Savannah Film Festival on Halloween and hopefully it will be lucky enough to get show in theaters. The film is the result of the TV show Project Green Light, but don't let that thwart you. I went in with the skepticism that I give all the horror movies these days and was pleased that it did not involve an evil child that glitches around the screen. This movie tears down the clichés of its predecessors and is provides non stop excitement from beginning to end. A great mix of horror, action, and comedy. The perse cast is as good as the ways they are off'd. Well, reality TV has finally done something for me, now it can go away.
Need to get this movie out into theaters
Author: scootering2004 from United States
16 October 2005
This movie was an unexpected hit for me. I really enjoy every minute of this film from start to finish. It had a feeling of From Dusk to Dawn to even a Quentin Tarantino film. It's the first horror/monster movie that I have seen in a really long time that was actually good. I do not understand why it's having a hard time getting distribution. There are so many crap films out there right now that get distribution, especially films in the horror genre. Please people if you get to see this movie go and see it. It's worth your time and money. It's very funny also and never takes itself too seriously which helps the movie in the long run. The monsters never are called anything else but monsters and that's refreshing. No drawn out back story, just right to the point action, comedy, and suspense. Please again if you get a chance to see this film go see it. Spread the word to help the director, writers, and producers of this film to get it some distribution. If you were a fan of the Project Greenlight television show then actually go see the movie.