Blood Feast is 2016 cannibal horror film with the story and directed by Marcel Walz (Blind, Pretty Boy, La Petite Morte franchise, Raw franchise, Seed 2, and Rootwood). It was written by Philip Lilienschwarz (Agonia, Portae Infernales, and Absolutio). It was produced by Emsch Schneider (Collar, Caedes, La Petite Morte II, and Raw 3). It had a very limited theatrical run during it's release. The original home video release years ago was only the edited version. It's a remake of the 1963 horror film of the same name directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis which spawned it's own sequel in 2002 and an unofficial reboot under the title Blood Diner!!!!
Fuad Ramses (played by: Robert Rusler from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Weird Science, Thrashin, Vamp, Sometimes They Come Back, and Amityville: A New Generation) plus his family which includes his wife Louise (played by: Caroline Williams from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Stepfather 2, Renfield, Leprechaun 3, Days of Thunder, Halloween II, and Hatchet III) and his daughter Penny (played by: Sophie Monk from Click, Date Movie, London, Fear Itself, and The Hills Run Red) have moved from the United States to France, where they run an American-themed diner. Since business is not going well, Fuad also works the graveyard shift in a museum of ancient Egyptian culture. During these long nights, he is repeatedly drawn to a statue representing the seductive goddess Ishtar (played by: Sadie Katz from Wrong Turn 6, The Beast Inside, Death Club, Woods Witch, The Amityville Harvest, and Hanukkah). As his fascination with Ishtar grows, she begins speaking to him in visions. One night, Fuad succumbs to her deadly charms and begins a new life of murder and cannibalism. He prepares a lavish feast for Ishtar dripping with the blood, organs and intestines of his victims. As the bodies pile up, Fuad slips further into madness until no one... not even his wife and daughter... is safe from the desires of the bloodthirsty goddess!!!!
I've been wanting to see this Blood Feast remake for a long time! Unfortunately, when it was originally released here in the states it was the butchered edited version when it hit home video so I never checked it out until now. After watching this, I think I made the right choice because this isn't your typical horror feature with a little bit of blood every once in awhile. Blood Feast would be considered in the extreme horror sub-genre which the great boutique label Unearthed Films is mainly known for. This 2016 remake of Blood Feast is loaded with gore, guts, nasty kills, and director Marcel Walz doesn't hold back when it comes to the gruesome fx here. He has a great low budget visual style to his work.
Speaking of the wild fx, it's done by the talented fx artist Ryan Nicholson (Gutterballs, Hanger, Torched, Live Feed, The Predator, Deadpool 2, Blair Witch, Warcraft, Ghost Rider, Blade: Trinity, Scary Movie, Final Destination, and Dreamcatcher) with the help of his wife Megan (Fire Country, Resident Alien, Arrow, Supergirl, Dead Rising franchise, Collar, Dead Nude Girls, and Gutterballs 2). Honestly, the special fx work here is the highlight of this production. Plotdigger & the Nicholsons literally killed it in this new vision of Blood Feast. The script was there with a similar concept to the original but it was kinda all over the place. I wouldn't really consider this one a straight up remake of the 60's classic splatter flick because it's very different and it becomes it's own movie at the end.
Blood Feast 2016 is more of a reboot to be real so don't expect an exact copy of the original with this. I personally like that aspect of this because it's something else compared to what you would think. Veteran actor Robert Rusler knows exactly what type of film that he's making here and he hams it up with his over the top performance. It might be the most entertaining role from the character actor that made a huge splash in the 80's. Caroline Williams gives the best actual acting performance in Blood Feast. Honestly, I've never seen a bad turn from her in everything that I've seen from the actress in all these years. She's always good and very professional in whatever she does. Sophie Monk is gorgeous, she provides some quality eye candy for the movie. She struggles when it comes to her role but I will say that she looks great doing it. Sadie Katz has a cool cameo as the goddess in Blood Feast. I've always liked her work, she does lots of crazy independent horror. She isn't shy at all in this either. Cult director Herschell Gordon Lewis even has a small cameo in this which is great. Blood Feast had a solid pace and flow to it, it didn't lose my interest at all. It's a very fun and entertaining low budget production. If you are looking for something to turn off your brain on for a little bit and you want to see some high quality gore, this is definitely worth checking out at least once.
