13th October 2018 | 31 Days of “Alternative” Horror: Feeding Frenzy
The very idea of a horror spoof seems to be, at least in the 2010s, a cringe worthy and perhaps touchy subject. The instant you say “There’s another one.” The groans quickly follow. The groans come not of the dead, but from audiences with actual feeling beneath their skin and warm blood pumping through their veins. “No… it’s no laughing matter.”
It can be said that the golden age of the spoof era, when it delivered at its strongest in general, were the late seventies through to the early nineties, with Airplane at the height of its powers, and thereafter, The Naked Gun, right up to Hot Shots, Part Un et Part Deux. The Nineties saw a sudden reliance on cheap humour without much meat: with Down Periscope and the post The Naked Gun Leslie Neilson drop into obscure comedy travesties, we hoped for a renaissance, a Phoenix from the flame. In a way, the movie Scream took us there but still, very cleverly, held back on the stupidity value, but sadly with the Waynes, Sandler, Lampoon’s inc. takeover of the national Lampoon brand, the whole genre fell flat. No amount of money could save it. Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy including Sean of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and At World End proved as the only anomaly but that in itself transcended the genre with a blend of comedy, parody and pastiche and stand as their own masterpiece trilogy.
For a horror spoof with a strong suit for parody, you can’t go wrong with Feeding Frenzy. It’s hastily shot, it’s cheap, and yet so oh so funny and relatable as well as being void of high gloss, settling in nicely as a solid low budget independent experience. I’m not saying that the film isn’t without its flaws, but it’s those flaws that we find ourselves cheering on as referential moments bounce in and catch us right off guard.
Feeding Frenzy follows the story of DIY store employees who uncover that thief boss’ Plinkett carries a disturbing and dark secret in his basement. In the tradition of Gremlins, Critters and Spice World (I should check that last source) the movie plays out with the wonderful immature humour we come to enjoy from smart ass frauds, Jay Bauman and Mike Stoklasa. This movie mixes in with the lore of Plinkett. A repulsive overweight and yet very intelligent character who can deconstruct a movie and make sense of why something works or doesn’t. Despite that skill, he also murders women, keeps women tied in his basement. He’s an agoraphobic social vampire with no taste, dignity, personal hygiene, and overall horror of a man. We wouldn’t want him any other way.
Scaling back on budget and leaving spoof into the hands of folks at Red Letter Media is absolutely appropriate for the time. You’re not going to have another Airplane, Naked Gun: the Wayne’s brothers have already driven humour out. It’s through these YouTube known character actors that were going to experience a genre specific spoof through a fresh pair of eyes. Today’s Spoof needs to feel unfinished, incomplete and somewhat abandoned despite being full of moments that own their place where humour is earned and not forced. To fully get the principles behind Feeding Frenzy and the Stoklasa/Bauman film, Space Cop, you’re best to watch their film review / sitcom Half in the Bag, and pretty much everything else they’ve got on their Youtube channel. They are the Holy Grail of subversive comedy. They will make you feel young again.
Written by: Stephen Radford
website: stephenradford.com
Next: 14th October: The Haunting of Julia
