Dreadfully Boring

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I had hoped to find a decent zombie film but with a title like "FleshEater" I honestly didn't expect too much. And that's a good thing because what I found was pretty much what I expected: A low budget zombie film with terrible acting, a very weak script, bad special effects and extremely bad performances by the zombies. In fact, some of the zombies were just plain comical when they were meant to be horrifying. And while there were some attractive young women involved, they had no character development and because everything else was so bad they were essentially wasted. In short, this was a very bad film and the only reason I don't give it an even lower score was because of the possibility that this might make a good Halloween film--provided there is a lot of beer on hand. Preferably not Iron City beer, but I suppose anything will do in this particular case.

S. William "Bill" Hinzman, part of cinematic history for having portrayed the memorable Cemetery Zombie in "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), adds another zombie portrayal to his repertoire in this unabashed, straightforward gore fest. It's a little disappointing that we don't see more of him throughout the movie, but still, a little does go a long way here. As the title character, he wakes up from his slumber in the ground beneath a farmer's property, and starts a chain reaction of zombie creation when he begins munching on the stupid kids who have gone on a hay ride. Things go from bad to worse in this story that definitely feels like a remake of NotLD at times, especially when the kids try holing up inside an isolated farmhouse. The scope of the action is opened up a little, as we see the effects of the epidemic hit other people in the area. Fans of B level horror movies get what they expect with "FleshEater", including the always delicious lousy acting, particularly from a cop, whose reaction to being swarmed by zombies is priceless, and a family member who's somewhat less than truly distraught when seeing a loved one after mutilation. (Said loved one also provides us with a tasty dose of gratuitous nudity.) The gore is fun to watch, with the scene of Hinzman chowing down on a victim's heart a highlight. One moment around the forty minute mark is quite effective as Hinzman and company prove willing to break a taboo. The music by Erica Portnoy is good and creepy, but also way too repetitive. What's nice to see is that Hinzman treated this as a real labour of love, functioning in various capacities - producer, director, co-writer, editor, and additional cinematographer - and also utilizing family members as part of the cast. His movie is a fair deal of fun, never pretending to be more than it is, and consistently delivering some amusing moments. Even at 89 minutes, one can feel the padding, but there's always an entertaining bit of business around the corner. Seven out of 10.

1968, America was in upheaval. The Vietnam War was, sadly, in full swing. Atrocities were shown on nightly news. Riots were taking place in the streets. Crazed, lone gunmen were killing people from towers. Given the time and situation that our country was going through, perhaps it was inevitable that Romero's classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is thought to be a product of that era. Not only that, but it was made entirely independent from any major studio, in Pittsburgh of all places! Not in California or New York! Nonetheless, the groundbreaker changed the face of horror as we know it. 1988, the Vietnam War has ended but trouble brews in the Middle East. The Cold War is winding down. Dead teen flicks were all the rage during the late 70s and 80s. Perhaps it was inevitable that someone would come along and try to remake Romero's classic. While a remake would come several years later, I believe this was a first attempt. The basic story is the same, and even features a few of the same cast members, S. William Hinzman as the lead zombie (again.) What's different is the sensibility. Where the original worked by building up the suspense to a near claustrophobic pitch, this movie wants to achieve it, but never quite reaches that level of terror. In fact, most of the movie isn't terrifying at all. Good make-up and special effects can't make up for paper-thin characterization, poor acting, and bad dialogue (not to mention ill-timed humor.) The movie's main focus seems to fluctuate between young actresses uncomfortably taking their clothes off and over-the-top gore. Halfway through, the movie seems to repeat itself. The movie opens with a party of young people (college age I think, though they act like high-schoolers) and halfway through, the survivors of the first party stumble upon another party of young people. Oh, and the music is SO DAMN ANNOYING! You're not even given a single second where the music isn't played over and over and over again! The same music played over and over and over again! Can you sense my annoyance?! Nice try guys, but we've seen it all before. As a remake or a sequel, it sucks. For a better remake, please refer to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990.) As an unintended comedy, it's wonderful!

I usually love 80's flicks. They are so cheesy but so much fun to watch. Especially a good zombie flick. Right off the bat, I liked the atmosphere of this movie. You could easily tell it was creepy. It's definitely a B movie but the quality was shot well. This was no doubt a 'campy' movie. The acting wasn't great by any means, but it was tolerable. Typical 80's acting. The plot was no different than any other zombie movie but that's what I love about it. Stupid teens getting attacked by the undead or the living dead rather. The action started right off the bat which is a great thing. The music was spooky and quite creepy at times. I was also impressed with the makeup effects. Fairly realistic for the time it was made. High body count with nice gore. Overall I really enjoyed this. A classic gore fest with gratuitous nudity for anyone who loves gore, high body count, boobs, zombies and horror. A very good underground zombie film. A must see for horror hounds.