Eat Locals a comedy horror with bite – Review

A while back we brought the news of Jason Flemyng’s directorial debut, Eat Locals, getting its premiere at this year’s FrightFest at The Prince Charles Cinema.

Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, X-Men: First Class), has unleashed an action-packed and darkly comic thriller of supernatural proportions. Effortlessly blending gut-busting laughs with blood-spattered shocks, Eat Locals is Assault On Precinct 13 meets Interview With A Vampire in the story of a coven of bloodsuckers whose bark is almost as bad as their bite.

From a script by BAFTA nominee Danny King, Eat Locals is an action-packed and riotously funny vampire thriller brought to (eternal) life by renowned actor Jason Flemyng in his directorial debut.

Shortly after the news of Eat Locals heading to Frightfest, we had the chance to check out the movie, which will be released VOD/DVD from 30th October.

Eat Locals features a whole host of acting talent including Charlie Cox (Stardust, Daredevil), Freema Agyeman (Dr. Who, Sense 8), Mackenzie Crook (Pirates Of The Caribbean, Game of Thrones), Tony Curran (Underworld: Evolution, League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Eve Myles (Torchwood), Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey, Stella), Annette Crosbie (One Foot In The Grave, Into The Woods) and Vincent Regan (300, Snow White & The Huntsman, Clash Of The Titans).

Eat Locals - Freema Agyeman
“No vampires were harmed during the filming of this movie!” Freema Agyeman

Flemyng also reunites the cast of Guy Ritchie’s crime comedy Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, with Nick Moran and Dexter Fletcher both starring and Jason Statham directing the fight scenes which you can certainly see have that kick ass feel to them with their quickness.

Eat Locals starts in a quiet country farmhouse in the Hertfordshire countryside, Britain’s vampires gather, the opening sequence in itself is nicely shot as the cast of vampires arrive one by one at a round kitchen table, beautifully lit and atmospheric with its sombre piano music.

Eat Locals Cast in the Hertfordshire farmhouse
Eat Locals Cast in the Hertfordshire farmhouse

The vampires only come together once every 50 years to discuss territories, disputes, threats and food stocks, and the approval of new members. This night there is a new face that will be introduced to them for the first time, and if the vote is unanimous, he could be the latest member to join their fanged ranks.

This new face, however, is a local lad Sebastian Crockett (Billy Cook), who thinks that he is being taken to the cottage by sexy cougar Vanessa (Eve Myles) for a night of, well you know.

Eve Myles in Eat Locals
Eve Myles in Eat Locals

But not everything goes to plan for Sebastian, not only is he there for a different reason that he is hoping for, but he’s not the only guest who’ll be stopping by the cottage. Before they know it, a detachment of Special Forces vampire killers led by Colonel Bingham (Robert Portal) has tracked the coven to this remote location, although they’ve bitten off far more than they can chew: they expected one vampire, not an entire coven.

My first thoughts of hearing about Eat Locals was, “oh no, not another vampire movie“, but after the first 15 minutes into the film, it had its fangs hooked into me, this film is a good British Comedy/Horror, I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions with some of the dry wit and one-liners.

Eat Locals reminded me of when I first saw Dog Soldiers and how different that was at the time, this movie gave me the same feeling, it is bloody-thirsty in parts with some good blood splatters to entice the horror fans, the cast is well put together and I wasn’t expecting Annette Crosbie’s character to have me laughing so much, look out for the scene with her zimmer frame and the one toting a machine gun.

Eat Locals - Annette Crosbie
Eat Locals – Annette Crosbie

The chemistry between the characters works really well, as they bicker and fight through the night to survive, I loved Tony Curran as Peter Boniface, he has some great scenes throughout the movie and well written by Danny King, as are all the characters.

Dexter Fletcher certainly brings his comic wit into the film and is certainly a break from the norm during his basement scene with his deadpan dialogue, brilliant.

The film will be released VOD/DVD and Blu-ray™ on 30th October, so grab the chance to see Eat Locals and check out this refreshing change to the Vampire genre.

A comedy horror with bite

Movie title: Eat Locals (2017)

Movie description: Facing difficult times and with their glory days long gone, the eight undisputed British vampire overlords gather up for their semi-centennial meeting. However, before the break of dawn, there will be blood. And corpses. Lots of them.

Date published: September 1, 2017

Country: UK

Duration: 1h 34min

Author: Danny King

Director(s): Jason Flemyng

Actor(s): Freema Agyeman, Adrian Bower, Roman Clark

Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror

4

Summary

Eat Locals is a good British made Vampire movie that is not only funny but also gory in parts to keep most horror fans happy.