A simple premise (a group of people are attacked by several vicious monsters); a great collection of characters played by a dependable cast; a remote, claustrophobic setting (a roadside bar in the middle of the desert); a deliciously twisted sense of humour; and buckets of outrageous gore: these are the elements that went to make the first Feast such a tasty treat for horror hounds.
Feast II consists of the many of the same ingredients, only this time director John Gulager changes the recipe slightly (adding even more gross-out comedy) and tries to ladle out a much larger helping: more monsters attack a bigger target (a small town), causing greater chaos and carnage. Of course, bigger does not necessarily equal better: the result is a fun sequel, but one which, as the subtitle suggests, is also rather sloppy.
As in the first film, Gulager quickly introduces his audience to an eclectic cast of characters (including a second hand car salesman, his adulterous wife and her lover, a biker queen and her gang, and two micro-wrestlers) before bringing on the real stars of the show, the toothy critters with a hunger for human flesh, who spend the rest of the film making a mess out of pretty much everyone who crosses their path. Eventually, after a series of close encounters with the nasty creatures, a small group of survivors gather together on the roof of a building and attempt to stay alive long enough to figure a way out of their predicament.
It must've seemed like a logical progression to up the ante second time around, but in opting to take the action to a much larger playing field, Gulager seems to have bitten off a little more than he can chew: the story is less focused, the characters not so well defined, and the monsters too exposed (now they actually look like men in rubber suits!). In order to detract his audience from the film's obvious weaknesses, the director very wisely chooses to play the 'bad-taste' card: he presents his audience with so much revolting gore, grue and potentially offensive material, that he hopes they won't notice its flaws. It's a plan that very nearly succeeds.
Viewers are treated to so many delightfully demented moments, that it is easy for degenerates like me to be a little too forgiving about the film's less effective qualities. With dwarf sex, mass vomiting, cat-rape, an OAP launched by catapult, and a particularly gratuitous baby death, Gulager enures that the sick and twisted stuff comes thick and fast (particularly in one scene involving an ejaculating monster corpse!), and these moments undoubtedly make Feast II an enjoyably daft romp. When in comparison with the excellent first film, however, it should definitely be considered something of a disappointment.
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
Feast II consists of the many of the same ingredients, only this time director John Gulager changes the recipe slightly (adding even more gross-out comedy) and tries to ladle out a much larger helping: more monsters attack a bigger target (a small town), causing greater chaos and carnage. Of course, bigger does not necessarily equal better: the result is a fun sequel, but one which, as the subtitle suggests, is also rather sloppy.
As in the first film, Gulager quickly introduces his audience to an eclectic cast of characters (including a second hand car salesman, his adulterous wife and her lover, a biker queen and her gang, and two micro-wrestlers) before bringing on the real stars of the show, the toothy critters with a hunger for human flesh, who spend the rest of the film making a mess out of pretty much everyone who crosses their path. Eventually, after a series of close encounters with the nasty creatures, a small group of survivors gather together on the roof of a building and attempt to stay alive long enough to figure a way out of their predicament.
It must've seemed like a logical progression to up the ante second time around, but in opting to take the action to a much larger playing field, Gulager seems to have bitten off a little more than he can chew: the story is less focused, the characters not so well defined, and the monsters too exposed (now they actually look like men in rubber suits!). In order to detract his audience from the film's obvious weaknesses, the director very wisely chooses to play the 'bad-taste' card: he presents his audience with so much revolting gore, grue and potentially offensive material, that he hopes they won't notice its flaws. It's a plan that very nearly succeeds.
Viewers are treated to so many delightfully demented moments, that it is easy for degenerates like me to be a little too forgiving about the film's less effective qualities. With dwarf sex, mass vomiting, cat-rape, an OAP launched by catapult, and a particularly gratuitous baby death, Gulager enures that the sick and twisted stuff comes thick and fast (particularly in one scene involving an ejaculating monster corpse!), and these moments undoubtedly make Feast II an enjoyably daft romp. When in comparison with the excellent first film, however, it should definitely be considered something of a disappointment.
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.