FEED (2005)
Label: Unearthed Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 100 Mintes 57 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.0 Stereo, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Brett Leonard
Cast: Alex O'Loughlin, Patrick Thompson, Gabby Millgate, Jack Thompson
Feed (2005) is a disturbing Australian flick directed by Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man), it details an obsessive investigation by Australian Interpol Cybercrimes investigator Philip Jackson (Patrick Thompson) whom we first meet while on assignment in Germany, busting two men caught in the act of consensual cannibalism involving a pan-fried wang, clearly inspired by the infamous real-life case in the early 00s. Disturbed by what he encountered he returns home to Australia to his bi-sexual girlfriend, and get a bit of insight into their open relationship, they have mutually abusive sex, and he gets back to work at the office.
There he uncovers an American based website devoted to fat-admiring men and the morbidly obese women they call "feeders" and "gainers", a bizarre sub/dom relationship, with the feeders becoming the doms to the submissive women who are basically bed-ridden and at the mercy of their subs. After looking into the site and discovering it's elaborate encryption, and some other weird touches like the fact that their vital statistics of the women are on display, he feels there's more going on at the site than just men admiring fat women. These suspicions are enforced when the star "gainer" Lucy is suddenly no longer present on the site, and he suspects that she may have been killed.
Despite being told by his partner Nigel (Matthew Le Nevez, Man-Thing) and his captain to not pursue the case as their is no clear evidence of a crime he takes personal leave and chooses to travels to Ohio, USA to track down the webmaster Michael Carter (Alex O'Loughlin, TVs Hawaii Five-0) to find out what is really happening. Of course what he starts to uncover is something dark and quite sinister, there's a lot more happening here than fat-admiring men paying to get a peep at the latest heavy-set site model, with Lucy now replaced by the 600+ pound Deirdre (Gabby Millgate, Muriel's Wedding).
I must say that I found this flick to be such an ugly and exploitative film, so it's certainly right down the center lane for Unearthed Films and their usual boundary crossing and stomach churning sensibilities, of which I am often a fan. The premise is grotesquely interesting, fascinating even, but the execution pretty much on all fronts just didn't do it for me. I found the bleached-out and filtered look of the film unsavory, the overactive edit-style, and the over-heightened acting made it hard to buy into any sort of reality of the situation, it just rubbed me the wrong way from all sides. Even the soundtrack annoyed me, covers of songs originally by The Association, Queen, Soft Cell, Echo & the Bunnymen that were all pretty lackluster, or straight-up murdered. It just feels one many numerous post-Se7en flicks that failed to connect for me, despite upping the gross-out factor, there's some decent bones and a solid kernel of an idea about gluttony, kink, an control, but I found the execution sorely lacking. There are some interesting flashbacks for characters that get to the root causes of their issues, going back to their childhoods 'natch, some of which was mildly interesting, but not enough to turn me around on it.
This one has plenty of gross-out material, juts on that ultra-disgusting level this film excels in being sick and gross; aside from the 600+ pound woman being fed what seems to be dozens of greasy burgers while Michael furiously beats off with his free hand that's not stuffing her face with burgers was stomach churning, and add to that the later revelation that he's force-feeding these women the protein-powder infused liquified fat of previous site models, there's plenty here to turn your stomach, but gross-out gags alone do not a good movie make. This one did not work for me, but if you're just looking for something to get your stomach churning there's plenty here to get the bile and stomach acids burning your throat.
Audio/Video: For it's 20th anniversary Feed (2005) arrives on Blu-ray from Unearthed Films in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1). It's a solid transfer with good color reproduction, black levels are strong, and depth and clarity are pleasing.
Audio comes b y way of English PCM 2.0 stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.12 with optional English subtitles.
The single-disc release is well-stocked with extras, we get
the shorter 91-min U.S. Cut (91:06) with Temp Sound or Dual-Mono Mix in SD and Audio Commentary by Director Brett Leonard; 23-min of Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending with Optional Commentary by Director Brett Leonard; 41-min of Deleted & Extended Scenes; 11-min of Outtakes; the 4-min Final Day Interview with Director Brett Leonard, plus Interviews with actor Alex O'Loughlin (6:03), Jack Thompson (0:56), and Producer Melissa Beauford (4:52). Additionally there's a 8-min Feed In Philadelphia: The North American Featurette; an 8-min Infomercial; 1-min Photo Gallery; and the 1-min Original Theatrical Trailer.The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided wrap, plus a Limited Edition Slipcover.
Special Features:
- U.S. Cut (91:06) with Temp SoundCloud or Dual-Mono Mix SD
- Audio Commentary by Director Brett Leonard
- Deleted Scenes w/ Commentary by Director Brett Leonard (22:42)
- Alternate Ending w/ Commentary by Director Brett Leonard
- Detedc& Extened Scenes (40:48)
- outtakes (10:59)
- Final Day Interview with Director Brett Leonard (4:22)
- Interviews with Alex O'Loughlin (6:03), Jack Thompson (0:56), and Producer Melissa Beauford (4:52)
- Feed In Philadelphia: The North American Featurette (8:37)
- Infomercial (7:40)
- Photo Gallery (1:10)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:20)
Buy it!
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