Flesh Eater, (1988)

       

        Written, edited, directed, produced and starring Bill Hinzman, (the cemetery ghoul from the original Night of The Living Dead,) Flesh Eater has some serious pedigree, so one might think this to be a continuation of that film. Not so much the case.

Our story opens with a group of college kids enjoying a hay ride out to the woods of some farmland in Western Pennsylvania to spend Hallowe’en around a campfire, with friends and beer.

Meanwhile, as he is clearing some land, a man discovers what turns out to be a grave sealed with a curse and some chains. Unknowing, the man opens the grave, thusly freeing Mr. Hinzman’s undead antagonist, all snarling and in full-color, setting things in motion.

He's Baa-aack!

It is important to one’s enjoyment of this film to remember that this is NOT Night of the Living Dead, or related to it, (you know, ASIDE from subject matter, location, cast and crew!) By that, I mean that witchcraft, or more accurately Satanic worship, is the cause of the outbreak. True, this is only hinted at on two occasions throughout the movie, but it makes the departure from the standard behavior of the undead principal zombie much more acceptable. For example, the punch through the torso, or the killing with a pitchfork, (both well done and have some very cool stories about them in the “making of” featurette!) are done ONLY by the Hinzman zombie - the one that was buried under a cursed grave. All other undead adhere to the rules of Romero: slow, shambolic, unthinking. Instead of this being a ‘spoiler,’ I believe that knowing this in advance will only enhance one’s viewing enjoyment.

   

        Oh yes! There are many faults. The editing could be much more thorough, sound quality is difficult to overlook, the nudity is a bit gratuitous, and the acting is sporadic, but there is a lot worth watching here, too. So, I used my Zombie Movie Rubric to grade this, (and remove my sense of nostalgia, and dispute the poor reviews from past critics,) and up with an object score of 2 out of 4. Personally, I would’ve given a bit more.

           You see, this is NOT a reinvention of the genre, nor is it even a great movie. It may even be simply a cash-in attempt on the success of Night of the Living Dead, but it is done with reverence and respect for classic zombie movies, deviating from formula only enough to keep it from being a rehash. 

            In short, I enjoyed this. Not only from a nostalgic point of view, (but, in honesty, that was a factor,) but, as a low-budget, mid-80s entry in the zombie movie genre, Flesh Eater is a worthy addition to any undead-fan’s video library. 

          Here is a link to the Flesh Eater trailer on YouTube, to entice you further.

      
          The movie is ALSO known as ‘Flesheater,’ ‘Revenge of the Living Dead,’ and ‘Zombie Nosh.’

Neither trick nor treat for this little angel.

    I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the musical score by Erica Portnoy. The arrangement is set around a simple line of five minor-key notes that capture the mood nicely. Reminiscent of those in the movie Halloween.

For such a low budget affair, BTW, the DVD also has a bunch of cool extras making it ‘purchase-worthy,’ too!