Directed by Brett Leonard
Review based upon the Showbox DVD release
“Feed” is a strange and rather uncomfortable film to watch. A film the blatantly mixes obesity and force-feeding with sexual gratification is always going to be a tough flick. Very much in the mould of David Fincher’s “Seven”, this Australian film directed by Brett Leonard (who all but disappeared after “The Lawnmower Man”) is an interesting piece of work, but is it one to gorge or spit out?
Phillip Jackson (Patrick Thompson) works for the Australian police in the cyber-crimes unit, tracking down illegal activity on the Web and reporting it to the various authorities to investigate. Concerned that his work isn’t being acted upon quickly enough, when he stumbles across a strange website called ‘Feeder-X’ he decides to take matters into his own hands. The clues lead to Ohio in the USA, where Michael Carter (Alex O’Loughlin) seems to be the man behind ‘Feeder-X’. But as Phillip’s sanity frays and his relationships crumble, will he find out the true intention of the website? And will he be too late to save himself…?
“Feed” is a serial killer movie with a very interesting concept; if a woman truly wants to eat herself into life-threatening obesity, is it murder if they’re aided? The problem here is that the premise is explored rather clumsily. At points “Feed” is very dialogue heavy, and feels almost like a stage play two-hander. It’s all very interesting and well written by Kieran Galvin, but it highlights another problem; that Brett Leonard can’t really direct action scenes or create tension very well. In fact, he directs the actors themselves better than sequences or moments. This is probably why a lot of the movie seems quite slow, even when it should be fast paced. “Feed” seems to lack a sense of urgency.
Nevertheless, Leonard and his cast really do wring every last drop of revulsion from the obesity and sex correlation that the screenplay highlights. The film opens by making a bold statement: that the story is fiction but based on actual behaviours, and it’s the accuracy of this statement that adds to the disturbing feel of the piece. In addition, Leonard doesn’t skimp on the gratuitous nudity or gross-out factor, which does give the picture a welcome sense of black humour. “Feed” at times feels very much like an exploitation movie such as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, where the audience is subjected to watching someone being effectively tortured for the whole running time.
The performances are perhaps where the film loses some of its integrity. Patrick Thompson is a little unbelievable in the role; his performance a little stilted. It feels almost like you’re watching Aussie-soap “Neighbours” at points, which isn’t a recommendation. The main villain played by Alex O’Loughlin fares much better, coming across as a real sociopath even if it’s a little stereotypical sometimes. The supporting cast are solid, if a little flat (no pun intended).
From a technical standpoint, there is little gore here but a great deal of visual focus on the force-feeding which looks repulsive. The whole movie is shot on digital, giving the piece a rough and realistic look that enhances the overall impact. Brett Leonard delivers some well-shot segments with contrasting colours and lighting, but the overuse of layering and jump cuts to add tension just tends to fall a little
flat, as it’s overused.Unfortunately “Feed” has one major Achilles heel, which is the ending. After setting up an interesting premise and concept, the final 3 minutes almost undermine all the character dynamics, something that isn’t helped by the sudden appearance of a dead-ringer for Robinson Crusoe. There’s an alternative ending on the DVD that simply adds more length to a closing sequence that already makes little narrative sense and feels tagged on.
Overall, “Feed” is an average serial killer horror movie which has a good idea but is let down by a dialogue-heavy script and a silly ending. Brett Leonard clearly has some talent but needs to rely less on technical tricks to cover the cracks, and work on developing tension through mise-en-scène. A worthwhile watch for the atmosphere it develops, “Feed” has some good moments and the performance of Alex O’Loughlin to save it from mediocrity. Nowhere near as good as “Seven”, this is worth a watch, but due to the theme this is one to be approached with caution.
5.5 out of 10
Nicely shot and containing some shocks, “Feed” is a reasonable movie… but certainly not for everyone
