Review of FleshEater

FleshEater (1988)
5/10
Dull zombie tedium
27 September 2007
Well, you can't expect anything original from a film like this, so I didn't. I just wanted a fun zombie flick that would entertain me for its duration and nothing more. Did I get it? No, because Flesheater features a serious lack of interesting scenes, and the way that it plays out with barely a lick of humour means that it isn't much fun either. Obviously the main inspirations for this film are George Romero's classic zombie flicks; principally Dawn of the Dead, but there's clearly things lifted from other entries in the series; not to give anything away, but the ending is a direct lift from Romero. As you can imagine, there is very little in the way of plot and the film is mostly made up of zombies eating people; which is OK, but really it needs some sort of story to go with it, or at least something else to keep the audience interested. The film starts by focusing on a group of kids who comes across the grave of an old man. It's not long before he comes back as the flesh eating living dead, and after some of the kids are bitten, things start to get out of control.

Considering there's not really a plot, you have to expect some decent gore...but Flesheaters even disappoints on that front. There's a fair amount of gore in this film, and it's not badly done; but it's boring and unimaginative, which fits the rest of the film but doesn't do anything for Flesheaters' credibility! Many post-Romero zombie flicks feature some sort of tribute to the master, often ham fisted stuff like calling a character "Romero", but this film goes a step further and not only does it cast Bill Hinzman - the first zombie from Night of the Living Dead - he's cast in a pivotal role! They might as well have just slapped a big banner over the cover saying "Romero Rip-Off" and had done with it! Most of the film takes place in a country setting, which is probably a result of the crew not being able to find a better place to film...still, it's one of the better things about this film. The film just kind of drones on for most of the duration - if you thought zombie flesh eating couldn't be boring, you'll reconsider after this. The ending is a real none-event too; overall, I'd recommend skipping this one!
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