Blood Feast was a film that was made in 2016, but just now getting its release. It debuted at festivals last year and making a limited theatrical run currently. This remake stars Robert Rusler, Caroline Williams and Sophie Monk.
On a whim I checked out Blood Feast in my local theater. I had seen the original from Herschell Gordon Lewis and was intrigued when I realized this was the remake to that film back from 1963. The synopsis for this film is Fuad Ramses (Robert Rusler) and his family has moved from the United States to France, where they run an American diner. Since business isn’t going too well, Fuad also works night shifts in a museum of an ancient Egyptian culture. Fuad starts to hallucinate that the ancient goddess Ishtar (Sadie Katz) wants him to make a sacrifice in her honor. The more he researches; he learns of the Blood Feast and wants to become her lover for eternity.
Now the first thing I noticed about this film as opposed to the one it is based off of, this one has a much more interesting story. The original is very basic and relied heavily on the gore. It also was low budget and absurd, but fun. This one we learn that Fuad has some sort of mental disorder that he takes medication for. He accidently spills them down the bathroom sink. His wife Louise (Caroline Williams) notices and she is concerned. She wants him to go to the doctor to get a refill. It is when he is off the medication that he starts to see Ishtar. I find this interesting as we don’t know if this is Fuad descending into madness or is he really seeing Ishtar. As this gets worse and the bodies start to pile up, he prepares this feast for the goddess. I had issues with the climax and the ending. The participation of Louise and their daughter, Penny (Sophie Monk) had me quite confused. It also just ends without a resolution in my opinion.
The acting wasn’t very strong. I did think that Rusler was pretty good as Fuad and Williams as Louise. I’m a fan of hers due to her work in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Leprechaun 3, her love of the genre also helps. I found these two to be believable in their roles. We see that they are stressed and trying to make the business work. Rusler adds another dimension with his mental issues. Monk wasn’t bad as Penny, I just found her looking a bit too old for the role that she is trying to portray. I felt that the role should look a bit younger as to what it is going for. Roland Freitag was also alright as the police officer, but Monk falling for him as quickly as she did felt forced. The rest of the cast did what they needed to round the film out.
Something very strong with this film is the effects. They looked to be done practically and they looked very real. I’m glad that they didn’t shy away from the gore, because that was something that Lewis never did. All of the deaths look real and there is actually eating of human parts and it made me cringe. It does look quite real so I was impressed by this aspect. The blood looks good which the original in the era it came out had that bright orange blood. I have a soft spot for that, but it effects me more when it looks closer to the color of real blood.
The editing of the film is interesting as well. The opening credits have a male and a female that are chained up as Fuad kills them. We never actually find out if this really happens or not. The ending credits are also over top of another scene. The editing throughout the rest of the film was good as it builds tension for the film. I did enjoy during the climax showing us what Fuad thinks is really happening, which is bathed in white light and clean. The reality is much different and I found that to be an interesting parallel.
The sound design of the film I thought was pretty good. It didn’t stand out for most of the film, but it also didn’t hurt it. It feels that the score selection fit the scenes and it never took me out of them. I will also add that they brought back the main song from the original film, which has an unnerving and I loved that they brought it back.
Now with that said, I would recommend seeing this film. I would say that this is a modern take on a gory slasher. This is actually a pretty solid remake in my opinion too, which is something that can definitely be hit or miss. The story behind the film is interesting and they did a good take on it. I would have liked the climax to make a little bit more sense as well as the resolution as well. The acting in the film was pretty good for the most part. The effects were a strong point in the film. I thought they did some good editing in the film as well as some of the shots were pretty strong. The sound design really didn’t stand out, aside from bringing back the main song from the original. Overall this film is slightly above average in my opinion, but I did have some fun with it.
6.5/10
Now the first thing I noticed about this film as opposed to the one it is based off of, this one has a much more interesting story. The original is very basic and relied heavily on the gore. It also was low budget and absurd, but fun. This one we learn that Fuad has some sort of mental disorder that he takes medication for. He accidently spills them down the bathroom sink. His wife Louise (Caroline Williams) notices and she is concerned. She wants him to go to the doctor to get a refill. It is when he is off the medication that he starts to see Ishtar. I find this interesting as we don’t know if this is Fuad descending into madness or is he really seeing Ishtar. As this gets worse and the bodies start to pile up, he prepares this feast for the goddess. I had issues with the climax and the ending. The participation of Louise and their daughter, Penny (Sophie Monk) had me quite confused. It also just ends without a resolution in my opinion.
The acting wasn’t very strong. I did think that Rusler was pretty good as Fuad and Williams as Louise. I’m a fan of hers due to her work in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Leprechaun 3, her love of the genre also helps. I found these two to be believable in their roles. We see that they are stressed and trying to make the business work. Rusler adds another dimension with his mental issues. Monk wasn’t bad as Penny, I just found her looking a bit too old for the role that she is trying to portray. I felt that the role should look a bit younger as to what it is going for. Roland Freitag was also alright as the police officer, but Monk falling for him as quickly as she did felt forced. The rest of the cast did what they needed to round the film out.
Something very strong with this film is the effects. They looked to be done practically and they looked very real. I’m glad that they didn’t shy away from the gore, because that was something that Lewis never did. All of the deaths look real and there is actually eating of human parts and it made me cringe. It does look quite real so I was impressed by this aspect. The blood looks good which the original in the era it came out had that bright orange blood. I have a soft spot for that, but it effects me more when it looks closer to the color of real blood.
The editing of the film is interesting as well. The opening credits have a male and a female that are chained up as Fuad kills them. We never actually find out if this really happens or not. The ending credits are also over top of another scene. The editing throughout the rest of the film was good as it builds tension for the film. I did enjoy during the climax showing us what Fuad thinks is really happening, which is bathed in white light and clean. The reality is much different and I found that to be an interesting parallel.
The sound design of the film I thought was pretty good. It didn’t stand out for most of the film, but it also didn’t hurt it. It feels that the score selection fit the scenes and it never took me out of them. I will also add that they brought back the main song from the original film, which has an unnerving and I loved that they brought it back.
Now with that said, I would recommend seeing this film. I would say that this is a modern take on a gory slasher. This is actually a pretty solid remake in my opinion too, which is something that can definitely be hit or miss. The story behind the film is interesting and they did a good take on it. I would have liked the climax to make a little bit more sense as well as the resolution as well. The acting in the film was pretty good for the most part. The effects were a strong point in the film. I thought they did some good editing in the film as well as some of the shots were pretty strong. The sound design really didn’t stand out, aside from bringing back the main song from the original. Overall this film is slightly above average in my opinion, but I did have some fun with it.
6.5/10
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