The Movie Waffler First Look Review - FEED ME | The Movie Waffler

First Look Review - FEED ME

Feed Me review
A troubled man finds himself in the home of a cannibal.

Review by Sue Finn

Directed by: Adam Leader, Richard Oakes

Starring: Christopher Mulvin, Neal Ward, Hannah Al Rashid, Samantha Loxley

Feed Me poster

After the unexpected death of his estranged wife Liv, Jed (Christopher Mulvin – committed) struggles to cope with her loss. Tormented by the things he wished he hadn't said and the things he wished he had done, he spirals in shame and regret.

Shortly after the funeral, he makes a connection with a man called Lionel (Neal Ward) who had gatecrashed his wife’'s funeral and who now offers him a chance to "escape the weight of the world."

The assisted suicide Jed has in mind however comes with strings to satisfy Lionel’s appetites, because Lionel is a cannibal and he intends to slowly eat Jed, bringing about both their desires.

Feed Me review

Inexplicably, Jed agrees, and so begins a very random, almost ridiculous, almost sweet bromance between the eater and the eatee. Until Jed decides maybe this isn't what he wants after all, and things get even darker.


I'm assuming we're not meant to take any of this seriously, because from the very beginning it's not believable. There are no drugs that you can inject into a vein that would just numb a hand. There's no way someone could have their entire arm ripped off and less than an hour later be taking selfies with no pain relief onboard or medical intervention to replace the massive blood and tissue loss. There is no way this person wouldn't have died of shock and blood loss several times throughout the film. There is no world where police help themselves to a person's dinner. There's no world where police aren't alerted to the foul griminess of Lionel's home from the second they enter it, looking as it does like the den of a serial killer. There is no world where the random coffee shop owner is attracted to Lionel and pursues him like he's a catch.

Feed Me review

There are some surrealistic parts to the movie. I particularly enjoyed how Jed is haunted by his late wife, who often sports the same injuries that he himself has incurred, but the script isn't given enough space to breathe; the emotions and connections between our two leads whiplash from friendship to hatred at breakneck speed, which robs it of any believability or investment in the story. Even a horror comedy needs to have characters that act in a believable manner.

As Lionel, Ward gives us an outrageous performance; it lacks any subtlety or real progression and is so over the top that I can't decide if it's intentionally cheesy and weird, or if it's bad acting. I think I like it, but with his exaggerated accent, super fake wig of a hairdo, and eclectic dress sense, the character himself comes across as almost too "eccentric in plain sight" to be real (though "weird" would be the word, "eccentric" is for rich people, and Lionel certainly isn’t rich).


Based on THAT true story about the German cannibal who successfully advertised for a victim, this is one odd movie. It's almost obscene that this is based on a true story about someone who had people who cared about him and mourned him, and it's presented here as a horror comedy, so I will choose to think of this effort by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes as a separate entity. As a horror comedy it's not exactly laugh out loud, but it's oddly and occasionally amusing enough to keep you entertained, and it has a nice satisfying finale.

Feed Me review

This is nicely and confidently directed, the underwater shots are beautiful, and I especially enjoyed the shot at the beginning with police walking across a dark field towards a house with the strobing vehicle lights behind them lighting up the word "POLICE" on their backs as if highlighting who they are. Some of the compositions are also lovely, and it would be nice to see what these directors can do with some quality material that doesn't rely on shock value or garish exploitation.

One small word of advice - best to watch this one on an empty stomach.

Feed Me is on US VOD now. A UK/ROI release has yet to be announced.



2023 movie reviews