Feeding Frenzy

Having just watched "Space Cop" and being disappointed with it, I was worried that this earlier movie made by RLM would be worse...but it was much better! Plus the budget for this movie was about 1/3 of what "Space Cop" was. Weird, but it fits with how the budget doesn't matter so much as the writing/acting does for a film.

The story is basically a very comedic take on the movie "Critters", and even though that movie did have some comedy to it, "Feeding Frenzy" has a lot more. I was laughing so much during the movie that I even did some rewinds to rewatch the humorous scenes again. Seeing Mr. Plinkett was a bit of a surprise, and he does a great job in the film. This movie stands on its own and has enough originality, so don't think that it's just a different take on "Critters".

Acting was great and not a single character gave a bad performance. My favorite character was Maris Hilton played by Lora Story. She nailed her lines and had me laughing till my sides hurt. I just wish that she was in the movie more. Jay Bauman as Martin was my second favorite. He did a great job playing a character that has a heart condition. The word play was also very funny, since it was right up my alley.

The cinematography was very professional, especially in the night scenes. I was very impressed with how nice everything looked. Editing was also done extremely well with no plot holes or weird jumps between scenes.

The special effects were okay to average, but with such a low budget it's understandable. The creature design looked original, and definitely stood out from what a "Critter" looked like. I also liked how the creatures moved since it's basically "throw the creature." I'm surprised that so many shooting locations were shown in the movie. This movie also doesn't follow most horror movie tropes. Sure, some end up being done...but a lot of them don't, which is refreshing.

I am so glad that this movie ended up being as fun and as humorous as it turned out, since this is as close to how I would imagine an RLM movie being. Too bad "Space Cop" wasn't this good.

I purchased this movie for one reason, I liked the Mr. Plinkett character and wanted to see what they could do with him in a feature film. However, he doesn't actually have a lot of screen time in the movie. The focus of the film is obviously Jesse and Christine. When Plinkett is actually on screen, he is far creepier than his movie reviewing persona. Usually I want to sympathize with the villain a little bit (that old cliché of the villain you love to hate), but you don't really get that until the end of the movie. By then, you've kinda settled on disliking Mr. Plinkett. Watching this movie without expectations, and/or while drunk or high is advisable.

If you're an aspiring filmmaker or a student of film, then this will amaze you. It's a whole movie with plenty of creativity and innovation. Corny and stupid at times, but have you seen Transformers 2? Transformers 2 had a budget of 2 trillion dollars, and all you get is Shia LaBeouf rolling around in aluminum foil for 3 hours. If Feeding Frenzy had an A-list star in the leading role, it would have made 100 million dollars the first weekend of a general release.

If you're a filmmaker, buy the DVD. If you're a film lover, buy the DVD. If you're a passive film-goer and enjoyed The Hangover, this isn't your cup of tea.

Here's my problem with this movie: Since this is horror-comedy and done very cheaply, I keep wondering which parts were supposed to be funny and which parts were unintentionally funny. I sort of feel this is perhaps more a parody on how cheap knock-off movies come to be than those cheap knock-off movies themselves. Obviously this isn't something I should concern myself, but I do.

But hey, even though its like jazz and the "artists" are clearly enjoying themselves much more than anyone in the audience, there are good parts. Some of the jokes do actually work. Not many, but some. We know from all those Plinkett reviews and Half in the Bag that the movie makers have some unique insights on films, so perhaps if I had being more familiar with all the movies they were thinking about when making Feeding Frenzy, I would have enjoyed it more.

The real actors in the movie are pretty good, especially considering how cheaply this was probably made and the material they had to work with.

All in all, the best I can give is a very mild recommendation, but tread carefully, this is probably the kind of movie some people will enjoy immensely, perhaps in some sort of twisted "ironic" way, others will see it as a complete waste of time.

The effects waver between awful and decent, the acting as well, but overall it's an okay no-budget movie with a few good laughs mixed in with the amateurish shoot. I've seen worse movies with 10000X the budget, so this is worth checking out if you like RLM.

Feeding Frenzy is a film that is caught between a rock and a hard place.

On one hand the core group involved constitutes the members of Red Letter Media - the highly entertaining collective of individuals that have made a series of brilliant film reviews and shorts that manage to traverse the thin line between informative and comedic critique. As such they have built up a passionate but as yet marginal fan base - one that is tuned in to the various in-jokes and unsaid references. In other words Mr Plinkett already has a bit of a reputation.

On the other hand they have looked to make a film that could appeal to the 'uninitiated' by following certain obligatory film-making rules, and by deliberately looking to tone down the more esoteric in-jokes (though Jay's 'this T-shirt is an in-joke' T-shirt threatens to spin the whole precarious situation into a paradoxical whirlpool).

Ultimately I feel that they have managed to do a great job. Considering the low budget they had this is a fantastic achievement. It's a well written, well directed, funny, and entertaining film, and I'll certainly recommend it to any friends of mine that still have a sense of humour left.

Perhaps I'm too much of a fan of RLM (and especially 'Half in the Bag'), but I was naturally drawn to the performances of Jay and Mike. They struck me as the stand-out performances,and I'd love to see them willing to give themselves more prominent roles in these films. They're clearly both natural actors on screen, and the simple fact is that the more they appear, the funnier their films will be, and the more entertained we will be as a result.

What I don't want to do by praising Jay and Mike is do a disservice to Gillian and Ron. I thought Gillian was superb in the role of the disinterested love interest. Some of my biggest 'LOL' moments were down to her. As for Ron - well I'll be lying if I say I didn't find his acting questionable at the beginning of the film - however he improves a lot as the film progresses, and by the end I could easily understand why he was right for the part.

In summary this is a lovingly made, consistently amusing homage to the video horror movies of the 80s. It could easily descend into schlock, but instead is full of some wonderful touches of comical brilliance and classy directing.

Watch it right in your face.