Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Kirandeep Yoder
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Stephen Abell
Oh, dear, I had some big hopes for this flick. For starters, it's written by Danny King, who was responsible for the witty Wild Bill (worth a watch) and directed by Jason Flemyng, who I've admired as an actor since his chilling lead role in George Romero's Bruiser. I thought that if somebody could add a new take on the vampyre mythos then these could be the two to do it... I have to admit they did try... but failed miserably.So what's so bad? It's full of great actors? It's the entire concept which bothered me. Vampire Overlords gathering together at a local farmhouse to discuss territory and quotas... so much for all-powerful beings who need to be feared. These are the most boring undead I've ever witnessed. It wouldn't have been too bad but both King and Flemyng spend too much time on this opening scene and idea. Even when things could have raised the action up a notch, like finding out one of them was taking more than their share, it's handled in a dull and tiresome way.Then when the army arrives, under the command of the church, I began to get my hopes up. Though Flemyng does a wonderful job of filming, adding interesting camera shots and angles - he's even pretty good with the action and fight scenes, he's not too good at creating atmosphere and this only adds to the sense of tedium. When the action finally heats up we are given a new vision of vampires. Not as all-powerful but as quite weak and powerless individuals. If you're wanting gore then there's very little in the film. In fact, the most blood in this film is in the farmer's fridge... along with loads of body parts... Sounds interesting, doesn't it(?) However, the farmer is just another wasted opportunity.Another thing that's wasted is the opportunities for comedy. The scene where Alice (Crosbie) wobbles out on a zimmer frame to take on the soldiers offers a lot of possibilities for both verbal and sight gags. However, what we get is a week killing and a cut away to another scene, only to later return to find Alice has been slain.And this is another letdown of the film. There are too many cut-aways. I don't mind when a director uses this as a way to cut down on gore. When handled correctly this style of filmmaking forces the audience to use their imagination, which usually is better than the filmmaker can provide. However, Flemyng doesn't just cut at gore and this gives the film a disjointed feel. The above scene, I mentioned, left me feeling unsatisfied.It's the actors that add the power and interest to the film. Even though their characters are lacking in appeal and are two-dimensional in structure they do breath a spark into them. It's just a shame that we don't get more of the Farmer, Mr Thatcher as I think Fletcher does a brilliant job with him. Eve Myles tries to Vamp it up as Vanessa but doesn't quite come across sexy enough - close though. Then you have the likes of Tony Curran as Boniface, Mackenzie Cook as Larousse, and Annette Crosbie as Alice... all of which are underused.So what we have is a nicely directed and well acted mostly dull and boring story. The entire thing would do well with a complete overhaul. The idea is strong and sound it just needed handling better, especially with the horror and comedic elements.I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who likes vampires or horror movies to rush out and grab a copy. Wait for it to come onto telly... and then, only if there's nothing else worth watching.
TheLittleSongbird
Despite being received negatively, 'Eat Locals' did have a good cast on paper and the premise was interesting. And there is certainly no bias for or against vampire films, there are both good and bad ones out there.Actually did want to have a little enjoyment from 'Eat Locals', considering the cast and premise. Have gone against the grain before, having found panned films not that bad (some are still not great though) and acclaimed films not that good (while still seeing the appeal), and was prepared to do so here. Do tend to agree with critics with that being said admittedly, absolutely refuse to do the common thing online and resort to critic bashing which is getting really ridiculous and annoying now and needs to stop. 'Eat Locals' however just didn't work, with the right execution it could have been guilty pleasure fun but ended up a bloodless film with little to no bite.'Eat Locals' does have good things. The cast make a very game effort, despite having to work with thinly sketched characters and a mostly dire script. Annette Crosbie and Dexter Fletcher give the best performances. There are some funny one-liners sprinkled here and there.However, as said, most of the script is dire. It is very clunky and awkward, as well as often forgetting to be funny, a big problem for a film with comedic elements. Most of the gags are laboured and laughter free, saw a review that called them long-in-the-fang, sums them up pretty aptly.The horror elements also fail, forgetting completely to be scary or shocking. It's all incredibly predictable and plodding and the cheap production values and gratuitous gross-out gore do not help. 'Eat Locals' even includes moments of action, which are poorly choreographed, edited and filmed (very haphazard) and lack any kind of excitement. That's one of the film's biggest problems, that tonally it's muddled and like it doesn't know what it wants to be, parts including the army, the mafia and religion add nothing and add to the kitchen-sink weirdness.Story-wise, it's an incredibly feeble, thin and deadeningly dull (the first act especially drags) one, where one actually questions whether there is actually one at all.Jason Flemying is a very capable actor but is very ill at ease in his directing debut. The music rarely gels with the rest of the film and sounds cheap and discordant on its own. 'Eat Locals' looks cheap and the characters are basically sketchy stereotypes with next to no effort in trying to make the vampires interesting.In summation, had potential but poorly done. 3/10 Bethany Cox
amanda-7211
We thoroughly enjoyed this film. Perfect viewing when you've had a busy day at the office and you need something easy to take your mind off things & just relax. We were really impressed with the actor who plays the unsuspecting male lead who is drawn into the vampires' lair. Other highlights were the ever-brilliant Dexter Fletcher and Annette Crosby (Mrs Meldrew!!) as an OAP-vampire- vigilante!! We took a punt and watched it with no preconceptions about what we were about to see, glass of wine in hand, ready to be entertained, which we were. So refreshing to see something that a) doesn't feature superheroes and b) doesn't involve an American male single-handedly saving the world. Again.
screechy_jim
I'm giving this fairly low score even though I actually liked a lot of this movie. That's because overall it doesn't deliver. There is definitely a lot of potential here. The plot is fairly simple and quite sound, though sadly unfulfilling.The cast is a mish-mash of capable (and quite talented) actors and equally talent-less armatures who couldn't make first cut in a pre-school play. This is probably the biggest issue with the film though the writing is equally as inconsistent.I simply don't think the story or script were ready for production. As I said, there are some good bits with some quite funny scenes, but there is simply too much screen time which is decisively average or below par, and this really causes the story to labour. Just a bit of rehashing to bring the general level up a notch or two would have worked wonders for this film.Aside from the oversized vampire teeth which when worn made all the actors speak like they were wearing false vampire teeth, the special effects were actually quite good. This was also somewhat surprising given the skimping that went on the cast, but hey, credit where due.Hope this helps.