dir. Adam Leader and Richard Oakes

Wracked by grief and loss, Jed (Christopher Mulvin) meets Lionel (Neal Ward), a stranger who offers him a terrible bargain – he will help Jed end his life if Lionel is allowed to eat him.

Having made an impression with their debut Hosts, directors Adam Leader and Richard Oakes return with another horror comedy that’s likely to delight and repulse in equal measure. For Feed Me is a fascinating, bruising tonal mesh that whiplashes between scenes of wrenching sadness and broad stroke guffaws. This may tickle some funny bones (and it really cuts to the marrow) but others may find it disarmingly off-putting. 

However to call it squalid would be a disservice to the technical prowess on display: Oakes’ work as cinematographer particularly stands out, finding much beauty amongst the grime and gruel. And the cast are great, Ward leaving a remarkable impression as Lionel with his perplexing accent and unique dress sense, all slippery mannerisms and inflections. In contrast Mulvin is admirable and affecting as Jed, the willing victim in the duo’s macabre arrangement. 

And yet, for all its creative merits, Feed Me will leave audiences needing a shower. Odd, nightmarish and horrifying, it’s ultimately missing a necessary buy-in to make this descent into darkness worthwhile.

© Russell Bailey

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