In the world of horror, there exists a corner where taboo and fetish mingle with terror and fear. Some call it “Extreme” horror, but others say it is the purest form of horror one can get these days with its grittiness and reveling in the most challenging of ideas in the horror genre. From sexual fetishes to unspeakable acts of violence, the extreme horror genre is not for the squeamish as even the most hardened gorehounds will actively avoid some extreme horror titles. What makes these films so particularly effective is that they often feel more homemade, and touch on topics that most people don’t care to think about, and then go deeper. Unearthed Films has made a literal business out of releasing some of the most challenging or “extreme” horror films out there, and there is no better example than “Feed,” from Director Brett Leonard. Is this extreme horror going to tide you over or leave you hungry for more?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A cybercrime investigator tracks a man suspected of force-feeding women to death.

HOW IS IT?

In the world of fetishes, it really takes all kinds, and “Feed” is one of the only films that we’re aware of that touches on the topic of obesity. While our society, media, and many other factors dictate how the “ideal” person should look, that doesn’t mitigate our own desires to love who we love regardless. But in the world of sexual fetishization, the motives aren’t entirely or explicitly based on “love” as much as they are “lust,” and “Feed” examines how the business of pleasure overlaps with the morality of taboo. The thing is, “Feed” establishes a lot of questions that it doesn’t really have any interest in answering which leaves the viewer with something that is no doubt unique, but also hollow. It’s a shame too because there are a lot of subtexts here rich for unpacking about personal choice, the stigmatization of weight, and ultimately the ethics of indulging in behavior that is objectively harmful despite having full consent from the participants. Instead, it favors a more traditional approach of showing you shocking things in quickly edited cuts while eschewing any objectivity in favor of extreme horror.

The central narrative in “Feed” isn’t so much about the procedural side of cybercrime investigators looking into the legality of a force-feeding fetish site, even though this takes up a majority of the runtime, but instead about exposing people to this online culture that not many will likely know much about. It even opens with a title card explaining that this isn’t based on a specific true story as much as some truth is borrowed to describe the culture of this particular fetish. From the jump, we are led to believe that this isn’t just sexual, but something more nefarious as there is no other reason for an International Cybercrimes team to be investigating someone in Dayton, OH for having a big woman kink. “Feed” makes the case that our online fetish proprietor, Michael (played by the film’s writer, Alex O’Loughlin) is a bad guy even before we know why we are supposed to be reviled by him. The procedural elements work fine and serve their intended purpose, but it often overshadow the most interesting thesis’ that “Feed” has to offer in favor of something safer and more “by the numbers” rather than ambiguous and pensive. The lead detective, Philip (Patrick Thompson) is an engaging loose canon type that would fit in just as well in an 80s action movie as he does here with all of his “vices” that deepen our understanding of his potential hypocrisy against the kinds of people he persecutes. It’s fascinating stuff really, the notion that the person busting perps feels both disgust and a kinship with his fellow fetish folk, but like so many other interesting threads it takes a backseat to more visceral, gross-out scenes that aim to disgust rather than explore.

Now we arrive at the biggest missed opportunity in “Feed,” the shoe-horned discussion around consent and free will. So much of the film is focused on making the viewer feel repulsed by Michael and by proxy Deidre (Gabby Millgate), but it isn’t until the very end that we get a more nuanced understanding of how these relationships work and who is ultimately in control. In all fairness to the film, it’s not bad and is quite entertaining, but it broaches a lot of good ideas while not doing much of anything with them. Michael’s relationship with his mother is one example of highlighting how trauma inflicted onto children can manifest in sociopathic behavior and tendencies later in life, but we only see this through flashbacks and some light discussion around Michael’s life after her death. At the same time, we know next to nothing about Deidre and she is only given agency as a character in the very end. Instead of exploring how our upbringing and experiences can affect our perception of sex, intimacy, and love it just treats the whole situation in a very “good/bad” binary way. Yes, what Michael is doing is objectively bad, but the reasons for it aren’t obvious until later which conflates our understanding of his background and makes the explanation meaningless. In essence, the film takes the “easy” way out and it’s not the only time either. Most fascinating is that while these are clear “misses” that would’ve elevated the film, it’s still pretty entertaining for what it is even though what it isn’t is far more compelling.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

There isn’t a lot of information provided about the transfer as the film is 20 years old and hasn’t been available in HD previously, only DVD. With the original 1.85:1 aspect ration intact the transfer is okay, but it also seems like version wasn’t sourced from the original negatives and rather a theatrical print. Some parts, particularly the scenes taking place in Sydney look washed out with high contrast which isn’t helped by the hazy look much of the film has. We don’t recall what the DVD versions looked like and are inclined to say this looks better, but it isn’t the kind of leaps and bounds we often see for films of this age making the jumpt to Blu-Ray. Images from this release are used throughout the review.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

On the sound side, there are two audio options; a 2.0 PCM stereo track and DTS-MA 5.1 surround sound track. We opted for the latter for our review, and it sounds just fine. There isn’t a lot of use of the rear channels for the surround sound to be felt, but the mix is solid as there is no bleeding over between dialogue, music, and diegetic sound. There are also English subtitles included for those who prefer to watch that way.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary, Unearthed is pulling out all the stops for this release and it really shows in the special features. While a lot of them seem to be archival, they are none the less interesting especially for folks who really wanted to know more about the intent of the film and it’s filmmakers. The first thing we reviewed was the Final Day Interview with Director Brett Leonard, which was sadly only a little over 4 minutes in length as Leonard shares his thoughts about what he thinks “Feed” is and what it means on the “last” day of shooting. Brett jokes that while it’s the last day, he has post-production showing up at his house the next morning to film more scenes in the “feeder room” which is built inside of his actual home to which he remarks on the irony. Leonard actually shares a similar sentiment to us in regards to what we think the film it trying to do by opening up this niche taboo and trying to provide contextual and societal analysis through the “guise” of a psychological thriller as he puts it. Leonard never says if he feels they succeeded, but hearing his take on the material does give us a slightly more positive reading.

The second feature we dove into was another interview, this time with Writer and Actor Alex O’Loughlin. Again, this clocked in at just a hair over 6 minutes, but it is impressive how much information is packed into that time and much of that has to do with how well spoken O’Loughlin is. He talks about seeing a documentary that inspired this with his co-star Patrick which led to them developing the script for a feature. They aspired to something akin to “Se7en” albeit on a much more modest budget, and Alex praises working with Leonard as his “big brother.” It seems that they both share the same vision for what the film’s message ought to be, but O’Loughlin does say there were some tense moments on set and thankfully the two are still close. A full list of special features included is below.

Special Features

Commentary by Director Brett Leonard
Deleted Scenes w/ Commentary by Director Brett Leonard
Alternate Ending w/ Commentary by Director Brett Leonard
Final Day Interview with Director Brett Leonard
Interviews with Alex O'Loughlin, Jack Thompson, and Producer Melissa Beauford
Feed In Philadelphia: The North American Featurette
Behind the Scenes Footage
Infomercial
Photo Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer

LAST RITES

As far as shock cinema goes, “Feed” delivers something pulpy that dances on the edges of greatness by toying with bigger, meatier ideas about society’s perception of beauty and the independent choices we make as adults. While it does gently approach these ideas, it never explores them as much as we would’ve liked, and it is still a film in a league of it’s own considering the topic and psychological thriller packaging.

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends at MVD Entertainment for providing a review copy for the crypt! Feed is available now and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT!

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Nov 4, 2020

Matthew Orozco