User Reviews

It's a low budget b-movie with mediocre acting. But what it has in it's favor is decent sfx and a story that is a bit more complex than I was expecting. It's worth a watch, but I don't think it will make anyone's top ten horror flicks. In a way it's not even horror, but more of a drama about rejection and self-destruction.

A little bit of body horror goes a long way. What begins as a small, unfortunate habit steadily progresses to more severe, cringe-worthy indulgence. In between instances of worsening blood and gore the movie is initially far more conventional - the portrait of a woman down on her luck, and struggling personally and professionally. As if that slant weren't enough of itself, the picture is pristine in its image quality, and seems at times to have a sheen to it - boosted further by the protagonist's impeccable makeup, and the very ordinary personalities of each character. These snapshots of Novella's life are unremarkable, but enjoyable - and almost give the picture a fairytale quality that contrasts sharply with the spiraling darkness the feature increasingly represents. It's not perfectly engaging, but 'Eat' is certainly good fun.

Filmmaker Jimmy Weber wears many hats here - writer, director, editor, composer - and he dons each pretty darn well. From a technical standpoint the movie looks great, including vivid blood and gore - kudos to the effects and makeup artists. Though not outstanding in the truest sense of the word, I really enjoy Weber's score. I don't think there's a specific weakness to cite. It's just that the mashup of story beats - the common and the grisly; the beauty and the beast, if you will - doesn't entirely jive in this screenplay. This isn't to say I think there's a particular deficiency; only that, however satisfying, 'Eat' doesn't come across as essential. That doesn't mean it isn't entertaining, because it certainly keeps our attention well.

Like the movie overall, the characters don't especially leap out in any way, but the cast embodies them well. Scene writing is solid, and the narrative further stirs a small measure of psychological horror into the mixture. While Novella's habit grows more demanding, the feature remains less about her state of mind, or what she does to herself, than about the life coming undone; the horror elements are just flavor on top. It's an interesting approach to a genre picture, and challenging to pull off with just the right ratio of the constituent parts. I think Weber definitely succeeds, if incompletely; 'Eat' just isn't as engrossing as it should be - the whole isn't quite the sum of its parts.

To be honest, though, I may be nitpicking. Ultimately the film does what it sets out to do, and it's a matter of a viewer's individual experience as to how invested one feels. For my part, I think Weber has made a fine film, with a strong approach to the narrative, that just doesn't wholly captivate. Still, 'Eat' is a highly enjoyable blend of genres, executed well, and if the premise in any way entices as a story to your liking, then this is worth watching if you have the chance.

I didn't know what to expect from this film. I had seen the title and the synopsis - no reviews.

It was surprising from the start. A fresh style rather than the moody kick-off many horror films have. It brought you into the character's rather false and fluffy life, and that of many others trying to make it in Hollywood.

The acting is suburb by all of the case who portrayed their respective characters well - believably.

My only criticism of the film is that it should have had more of an explanation of why the main character, Novella McClure, develops the way she does. we have a clue that it is because she becomes stressed, but there wasn't much of a back story.

I felt for the character as she went through her ups and downs.

I don't think this film is a 'classic' but it makes a change from dark and moody horrors.

The first full feature by director Jimmy Weber and it's one that will stick to your mind. the opening sequence is great, the editing and the graphics, it immediately got my attention. Slowly you get into the story and the first minutes nothing really is going on. Except for Novella (Meggie Maddock) who got some trouble with her thumb. It's bleeding. After going through so many auditions she's fed up and starts sucking her thumb and trouble comes in.

I can understand that some horror geeks won't going to like this flick because it do takes a while before the nastiness comes in. It's really going into the character of Novella and seeing how she's going on with her nasty habits of biting. Being used and abused (porn industry) she's becoming sick doesn't admit it and falls in love with her schrink.

Here and there you do get rewarded with gore. Overall I found it okay but to say it's one for the gorehounds no therefore I can't agree. This one just goes deep into the mind of Novella. It will stick to your mind, that I can tell.

Gore 2,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

5 of 10. Had the post-credit scene happened at the end of the film, I'd give it another point. After a film like this, however, it's asking a lot for people to stick around through the credits and the film really needs some form of release after grueling gore and tension.

The main problem is that the writer really needed a skilled director rather than serving as both. While the actors did what they could with the script, the casting for several of the key characters was off and could have easily been switched.

The other part of it that wasn't setup well was the psychological element. Too often, it felt like unbelievably stupid characters rather than a mental disorder.

It's not a B-film because of the special FX, which was very believable and didn't look cheap. It's B because of the writing/directing that made many scenes feel like TV soap opera melodrama, unlike a recent smoother, more finished blood-gore film Julia (2014).

Novella McClure (Meggie Maddock) is like most struggling actresses in Los Angeles: she is in her early 30s, her fake name sounded cooler ten years ago, and she has not landed a role in three years.

This movie has a pretty low rating on IMDb. As of this moment (August 2015), it is sitting at 4.7, which is generally considered a bad movie. But it is not a bad movie. The problem is that it is just very difficult to sit through because the graphic imagery is disturbing and disgusting. But this is, of course, exactly what they were trying to accomplish.

Obviously this is a low budget film, but the acting is still decent and the plot is better than average. It makes an interesting companion piece to "Starry Eyes". And the gore... wow. Most of the time it is just blood, but when we get glimpses of more than that, it is some of the best out there...

I just finished watching this movie 2 minutes ago and i came straight here to make this review.. It really makes me wide awake even when i watch it rather tired.. The actress and actors are well chosen for their roles.. Really got my full attention watching. Scenes captured in very detailed manner and captured my feelings too. The music and soundtrack fits in really good.. I love it so much.. I could also feel every emotion of the main lead (Novella McClure) in the movie. Kind of feel sorry for her when she encounter problems and stressed out. Its rather extreme the things she do to vent out her stress.. Apart from that she is quite pretty and attractive lady. Love the strong gore.. I'm not sure how others rate this movie and i don't care, its a 9/10 for me. But i still give 10/10 to show my appreciation for this movie. Well done to all the people who are involve in making this film. I love this movie so much.

One of the better horror movies I've seen in awhile. Need a strong stomach for this one.

Eat. What could I say about this movie. It's not well made. There's issues in everything. The script, the acting, the flow of the story. Even I could tell the lighting and production stuff was in disarray.

But I really really liked it. It's a really sick and disgusting take on Hollywood and I don't know. To be honest, I have no idea why I like this movie now that I think about it.

It just has a cool slow to it. The actress is attractive. And she's trying to make it in Hollywood. But she's kind of a slacker. And she eats herself.

It's cool. You gotta just watch it.

You might not like it. But it's truly one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.

7 stars

"Eat" is pretty much the one-man-project of a bloke named Jimmy Weber, and he clearly has A) a sick & twisted sense of humor, B) a hatred towards all the typically fake Hollywood glamour and C) a rather negative perspective on human behavior in general! The ideal personality to make a low-budgeted and independently spirited horror movie, in other words! "Eat" is an admirable and, at least for the largest part, entertaining B-movie with an original premise, vivid acting performances and a handful of truly grueling and nasty make-up effects. Moreover, it's an unpretentious little gem that doesn't take itself too seriously and I, for one, was relieved to see such a simple horror flick amidst all the wannabe-shocking backwoods/murdering rednecks movies nowadays. Novella McClure is a thirty-something actress with cute blonde looks and a catchy-sounding artist name, but the painful truth is that she hasn't scored a half-decent acting role in over three years. She struggles financially, but luckily has a motherly type of landlady. Her wild friend Candice takes her out clubbing but they only drink at the expense of random men they encounter, which also brings them in hazardous situations. Purely out of stress, Novella starts nibbling on a little wound on her thumb, but the bad habit turns into a disturbing and uncontrollable craving to eat her own flesh! Isn't that "food" for psychiatrists? Weber's script foresees a few very ingenious and unpredictable twists, and you genuinely feel empathy for poor Novella as she continues to sink deeper into misery, but then unfortunately it goes downhill during the last 10 minutes. The ending of "Eat" is disappointing, and surely Jimmy Weber must have considered more suitable and realistic conclusions to his wicked idea? Nevertheless, I can recommend this peculiar "cannibal" film, at least if you have the stomach for it! The scenes in which Novella feasts on herself are guaranteed to make you shiver, even despite the jolly and playful music score.

EAT tells the story of the unsuccessful actress Novella McClure how hasn't landed a role in three years. Someday she starts to eating her own flesh and developing a bloody cannibalistic addiction. With his first feature length movie delivers director Jimmy Weber a strong mix between gory horror and deep human drama. Main actress Meggie Maddock gives a very, a VERY strong performance as a young woman how falls deeper and deeper into a dark addiction. Another strong point of the movie is the way the story is told. Thanks full the movie takes his time to work out a realistic scenario and becomes after that more and more dark. To the finale some very great gore scenes comes up how are not easy to watch.

I saw this film a couple of years ago at the Denver Film Festival, and I thought it was interesting, however at moments it did feel a bit unnecessarily gory. At times it just felt if it was meant to satisfy all the demographics, who might like the similar, yet different elements of this genre.

Although I am a fan of low budget indi films, and even though the concept of this film was very interesting, the story however felt a little convoluted with unnecessary twists, that didn't really add to the actual quality of the film.

The performance of the main two actresses Meggie Maddock and Ali Frances were well done, however, the other performances didn't seem to stand the same ground. Like for instance, the performance by Jake Make, who played the character of the doctor, somehow just felt dry and two dimensional, hence loosing believability that I think was crucial for such a character.

Overall, for the genre this film is portraying, and the low budget it was made for, I believe this film stands its ground when it comes to its uniqueness.

I read the reviews prior to watching Eat and decided to give it a go. Cannibalism or self-cannibalism movies are nothing new, but I really appreciated the spin this movie gives to the subject. Most cannibal films are either dramatic horror or comedy- with a few exceptions, of course- and while this could be described as horror (based on content), it is more of a love story intertwined with a character who is mentally crashing. Similarly, I don't care for dramas, but this was just a good watch.

First and foremost, the fx folks did an excellent job with content. Since this is not a typical horror movie - where everything gnarly usually seems to take place in the dark- the idea that self-cannibalism could be portrayed onscreen would be a challenge, even for the best crews, when in broad "daylight." Beyond the realism of the "gore," the WAY it is portrayed is excellent. Lots of cringing, personally painful scenes done in such a way that make the viewer wince with discomfort - have you ever had a hangnail that you try to bite off and it rips the skin further than you thought it would? That sharp pain that sears its trauma in to your mind's eye? Now imagine a movie based on such a thing. Anywho...the FX are great and presentation is equally as good.

The story is really well written. For my money, a good story is made when multiple layers of content can be laid upon each other and form a complete but multi-subject tale. The writer did an excellent job weaving the pieces together for an aggregate bigger than the sum of its parts. And the parts continue surfacing until the very last scene. Where it falls down is that the writer is also the director, producer, music composer, editor, and a couple other things. More often than not, when I see writers directing, producing, and doing all these other jobs, the product turns out subpar...but usually because the product is simply not good to begin with. 'Eat' is a GOOD PRODUCT that would have benefitted from having a director with more experience. Period. Other than that, I found it very enjoyable.

"Eat" is far from a bad film. It is not. But it is far from what one is use to seeing in Body Horror films.

Although there are moments of the grotesque, "Eat" falls a bit short while diving into the body mutilation. Some may believe that this is a good thing, but it is not if your film theme is body horror. There are other elements in body horror films, but the main theme is still body mutilation, and again, as already stated, "Eat" sometimes falls short in presenting that.

Nonetheless, this film is still worth a viewing, and perhaps some viewers will find the film more disturbing that I did. If they do, that is a good thing, since "Eat" is a body horror film.

This movie was kind of all-inclusive and kept me guessing at what genre they were going for. I get it: gore, and the gore was perfectly 70's/80's. No CGI. Made your stomach cringe with each gore scene, very realistic.

Sometimes, I thought they were being over the top and goofy and hard to take seriously. Some scenes genuinely made me laugh.

Then they tried to be serious and almost feel-good.

Colors were brilliant in every scene.

It had everything! Loved it, hidden gem.

This one is not for the feint of heart. Eat is a warped mutilation fantasy. What kind of twisted, depraved freak came up with the story of a self-inflicting cannibal?! Hopefully, thankfully, they are probably on some kind of watch list, I'm sure. Eat is the story of Novella McClure, a blonde bombshell with a rocking body. You may know her from such eating disorders as cannibalizing her own flesh. She's not a zombie, she's just a little confused. Your friendly neighborhood therapist Dr. Simon is there for her. He sees something in her. Did I mention she looks like Marilyn Monroe?

The opening scene is the same old "person waking up in the morning" bit, only Novella brings something new to the table: herself. Did I mention she's easy on the eyes? The story has character development and a dramatic plot. The main character is a struggling actress. She's got problems. Her bestie is violent, she's broke, she's being evicted, she's on suicide watch, and she's dating her therapist. When the pressures of life just get a little too bad to bare, Novella feasts on her own body parts. I could actually see this happening. It's not that different from cutting, which is a serious problem affecting young girls.

Eat definitely had its moments. It's Hannibal Lechter meets Rigoletto. You'll love it, unless, of course, you're a vegetarian.