Feast (2005)

Feast is the third movie produced from HBO and Bravo's first-time filmmaker series, Project Greenlight. The first two movies were ho-hum indie dramas that nobody ever saw. Feast is an indie horror that nobody but hardcore horror fans ever saw, but it is far from ho-hum.

The opening scene cleverly introduces the degenerate denizens of the dive bar that is basically the only location of the movie. Characters get title cards with a Name (like Bossman, Beer Guy, Honey Pie, and Hero), Occupation (where applicable), Fun Fact, and Life Expectancy. Just as the characters have all been accounted for, monsters burst in the window and turn the bar into an abattoir.

In minutes, the movie is total chaos. Blood and corrosive green bile and maggots are flying everywhere. The monsters are extremely hard to kill, exceptionally fast, very smart, possess razor-sharp teeth and talons, can reproduce in a matter of minutes, and seem to take sadistic pleasure in killing and defiling their prey.

The protagonists board up the windows, consolidate their limited weaponry, and try to find a way to communicate with somebody who can save them. They wire up explosives on a dead body to bait the monsters into getting blown up, they make a number of largely unsuccessful attempts at running to their vehicles, and they finally make a stand and battle it out. Needless to say, lots of people die.

Feast is cleverly written, with sharp dialogue and a winking knowledge of the horror genre. It's an old-fashioned monster movie, but amped up to 11 or 12. Most of the characters are assholes, but come off as likable all the same. The gore is impressive and the creature effects are very good, especially for such a low budget.

The cast is loaded with familiar faces: horror genre veterans, punk music legends, tv sitcom cast members, and "actor" Jason Mewes (Jay, of Jay and Silent Bob) as himself. This is a great way to add some Hollywood cachet to the movie without using up too much of the budget, especially since many of them are wiped out in the early going.  

Feast is nasty, offensive, ultra-violent, and just wrong on a million levels. If that's what you're looking for in a fast-paced, action-packed horror-comedy, Feast has you covered and then some.