I was really hesitant going into Eat, a movie about a struggling actress who starts eating herself. I expected repulsive and depressingly dark body horror.
But when blonde babe Novella McClure begins dolling herself up to the sounds of the 80s throwback track “Beauty Killer” by drag artist Jeffree Star during the film’s intro credits, the sky opened and the heavens beamed down on me. This was so obviously going to be my kind of movie.
Eat is a fricking awesome and insane little dark comedy body horror film. I’ll say right up front, the moments when Novella chows down on herself are definitely squirm-worthy, but there are actually only a couple of such scenes, and the film never heads into unbearable territory. Instead the grisly moments kind of make you squeal with disgusted delight.
Novella does the auditions rounds, fights with her competition, wards off “filmmakers” who just want her to do porn, and gets into totally fucked up situations with her free-spirited BFF (love her).
She also meets an adorable guy…and that’s when things get really complicated.
There’s such a great old school exploitation vibe to Eat, yet it’s totally fresh and modern, with loads of over-the-top, joyfully ridiculous twists and turns. Add to that a wickedly charismatic, funny, and lovable cast, and you’ve got one perfect party film for gore freaks with a sense of humor. Those who take horror way too seriously, avoid it at all costs, so you won’t go on the Internet, write shitty reviews about it, and deny it an audience worthy of it. Here’s hoping director Jimmy Weber has more films on the way.
