DVDBeaver

Jack Curtis's "The Flesh Eaters" Blu-ray - Martin Kosleck / Barbara Wilkin @ShoutFactory

Added 2023-07-19 15:11:49 +0000 UTC

BONUS CAPTURES:

OUR REVIEW:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film11/blu-ray_review_175/the_flesh_eaters_blu-ray.htm

Hungry for horror? Director Jack Curtis (the voice of Pops on Speed Racer in the USA!) offers you a feast to die for with The Flesh Eaters.

A flight chartered by a petulant film actress and her secretary goes haywire when a storm and engine trouble force their down-on-his-luck pilot to land on a remote island. But this island is inhabited by Prof. Peter Bartell, a scientist with a disturbing past … and an even more disturbing present. Experimenting on mysterious microbes existing in the waters surrounding the island, Bartell hopes to cultivate them into insatiable monstrosities capable of eating their prey’s skin in the blink of an eye!

An early entry in the Splatter Film subgenre, The Flesh Eaters boasts a screenplay by comics writer Arnold Drake, co-creator of four-color favorites Doom Patrol, Deadman, and the original Guardians Of The Galaxy.

***

Jack Curtis's low-budget The Flesh Eaters is provocative for extending the boundaries of it's gruesome gore content well before the wave of such films existed. The film offers 'high camp'-laden innovation in the visual effects with ineffective post cinematographic inclusions. The Flesh Eaters is often cited for its use of deep focus cinematography. In 1967, George A. Romero actually changed the name of his intended 1967 horror title from Night of the Flesh Eaters to Night of the Living Dead to avoid confusion with Curtis's 1964 film. The Flesh Eaters was destined for cult status - an unusual, but memorable effort early to 'push the envelope' in terms of graphic content and ambitious special effects. A definite keeper for this reviewer. Best of luck to anyone keen finding the Shout! Factory Blu-ray on eBay at a reasonable price. It's "so bad it's good" is probably an understatement.