I was able to be one of the lucky group to attend the US premiere of this film, and I can say that I was both impressed and entertained thoroughly. I'll try not to stray so much during this review, so I'll just break it down into the good and the bad, as well as a small synopsis.
The Synopsis: A group of ten contestants meet up for a new weight loss reality show called By The Pound. The heat is sweltering and the food is scarce, but not too long after staying, they realize the biggest threat of death may not be the impending doom of heart attack and heat stroke. Contestants disappear without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder who is killing them off? Who will survive, and what will be left?
The Good: For an indy film, it was very well shot. I have to give a kudos to the filmmakers and the cinematographer for making the film visually enjoyable to watch. The locations were nice, and gave the movie a great summer camp feel. The cast was also highly entertaining. Two of my favorites being T.J. Moreschi and Jason Henry, whose characters had me laughing throughout (not to mention Ru Benjamin Revolver, who made me laugh uncontrollably every second he was in a scene). However, I feel that every actor on the cast truly brought their own to the table, and because of that, the film worked incredibly well with every character on screen at any given time.
The Bad: There isn't much to gripe about in this film, which I'm very glad to be able to say. The only things that stand out to me as something I wish could have been done away with are some of the zoom-out or zoom-in still shots. Not to say that ALL of the shots were unnecessary, but I feel that some of them seem to cheapen the overall feel of the movie. The only other thing I can possibly think to bring up would be a couple of continuity errors peppered about, but really no film is immune to the curse of continuity, and there aren't even enough to write home about.
Overall, FAT CHANCE is a nice throwback to those campy late 70s/early 80s slasher films, with over the top characters, a solid location, and more laughs, blood, and (man AND woman) boobs than you can shake a Chick-O-Stick at. And since the current XXL Version is the one making its rounds on the convention circuit, I highly suggest trying to get your hands on a copy of it so that you can see the film in its full glory before it needs to be cut down for full distribution.
If you're a fan of cheesy, 80s slasher films, you'll be wanting more second servings than any contestant on By The Pound!
