‘Guess who’s coming to dinner?‘
Eat Locals is a 2017 British comedy horror film directed by actor Jason Flemyng (Forbidden Empire; The Bunker; The Mirror; From Hell) from a screenplay by Danny King. The movie stars Charlie Cox, Freema Agyeman and Mackenzie Crook.
Plot:
In a quiet countryside farmhouse, Britain’s vampires gather for their once-every-fifty-years meeting. Others will be joining them too; Sebastian Crockett, an unwitting Essex boy who thinks he’s on a promise with cougar Vanessa; and a detachment of Special Forces vampire killers who have bitten off more than they can chew…
Reviews:
“Ultimately, Eat Locals is a film that, whilst not perfect, manages to deliver just enough moments of comedy and horrific vampire action to satisfy horror fans. The talented cast and director rise above the script’s many flaws to deliver a decent action romp, that unfortunately falls shy of being genuinely great thanks to underdeveloped characters, themes and ideas.” Critical Popcorn
“The script by Danny King never takes itself too seriously mixing some dark humor in with the action and scares. And while there is a fair amount of Dog Soldiers feel to the military vs vampire scenes Eat Local carves out its own identity with its subplots and twisted humor.” Beneath the Underground
“It’s a shame that Eat Locals tries to mix in a bit of everything without ever doing it well enough. There’s some blood and gore, but usually either hampered by some dodgy FX work or the fact that it doesn’t go far enough. There are some very low-key laughs, but this material seems to be crying out for much better dialogue and a number of smarter gags.” For It Is Man’s Number
“The soundtrack, setting and cinematography are well thought out and it has quite slick production but it could have been so much more […] If you do want to see this movie than to save yourself time and inevitable disappointment I suggest you just watch the trailer as it contains all the jokes (?!?) and action (again?!?) all in just 1 minute 39 secs.” Horrorscreams Videovault
“It’s all fairly random and ramshackle, and doesn’t quite establish its quite interesting mythology all that well – but it has smart lines, a few clever plot developments and a general air of enthusiasm that distinguishes it from the crowd of low-rent Brit house-in-the-woods horror.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“The actors seem to be having a ball and Flemyng co-ordinates the carnage well (even if the last act is a little unfocused). The film straddles the same cross-genre boundaries as Shaun of the Dead and Dog Soldiers, but sadly it doesn’t quite match-up to those noughties classics.” Movies in Focus
“It has a stellar-cast of former-Whovians and Lock Stock people, all more than ably directed by Flemyng who you wouldn’t know hadn’t been behind the camera before. The actors do what they can with a sluggish script that never manages to pick up the pace, with Cox and Fletcher standing out in particular, as well as the short bursts we see of Crosbie.” OC Movie Reviews
“It has a great cast, an original idea and the humour is definitely there. But, for me, it was, unfortunately, a lot more misses than hits. The film starts off well, fairly serious but with Sebastian used as the comedy. But as it progresses it becomes more slapstick than horror.” Games, Braaains & a Head-Banging Life
” …a nice line between horror, action and comedy which makes it enjoyable even if it is aimless at times. It also made the vampire film seem surprisingly fresh which a huge feat all on its own. This is certainly the echoed with its wonderfully sardonic and witty ending.” Bloody Flicks
“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…” Blazing Minds
“Maybe my expectations were too high with such an all-star cast, but it just didn’t seem like the actors were given much to work with. What action there was felt like it was inserted to provide a break from the clunky dialogue. Overall, those who enjoy dry wit and over the top action sequences will most likely appreciate Eat Local.” Pop Horror
Choice dialogue:
Peter Boniface: “I’m not a racist. I’ll kill anyone, no matter where they’re from. It doesn’t bother me.”
“Oh yeah. What’s not to like? Vampires and machine-guns.”
Main cast:
Freema Agyeman … Angel – Doctor Who
Adrian Bower … Private bower
Roman Clark … Mick
Billy Cook … Sebastian Crockett
Charlie Cox … Henry – Daredevil TV series
Mackenzie Crook … Larousse
Annette Crosbie … Alice – Doctor Who
Tony Curran … Peter Boniface – Doctor Who
Blain Fairman … Stationmaster
Dexter Fletcher … Mr Thatcher
Rhys Parry Jones … Private Jones
Ruth Jones … Mrs Thatcher
Dean Kember … Private Stoker
Lukaz Leong … Chen
Jordan Long … Thomas
Nick Moran … Private Rose
Eve Myles … Vanessa – Doctor Who
Steve Nallon … Margaret Thatcher
Johnny Palmiero … 18
Robert Portal … Colonel Bingham
Vincent Regan … The Duke
Nicholas Rowe … Private Gary
Asa Simms … Special Ops
Kavan Stables … Nick
Ben Starr … Private Crown
Technical credits:
94 minutes
Film Facts:
The film was previously titled Reign of Blood.
