Director: Jason Flemyng.
Starring: Billy Cook, Charlie Cox, Eva Myles, Vincent Regan, Dexter Fletcher, Annette Crosbie, Mackenzie Crook, Tony Curran, Freema Agyeman, Nick Moran, Jordan Long, Johnny Palmiero, Lukaz Leong, Nicholas Rowe.
Massive thanks and shoutouts to AFilmClub, NatashaAtlas and Daisy Chain Communications for the most amazing opportunity of being invited to what I initial thought was a Q&A screening of Jason Flemyng's directorial debut, an indie, dark comedy, Eat Locals, with questions being thrown at Flemyng afterwards. But, no I was wrong; this was so much more than!
The Q&A session was in fact a very intimate gathering of cast members, crew and fellow bloggers, vloggers and media where we all had the chance to mingle, have photos and chat to the people behind the film. The room had such a lovely, welcoming vibe and was a lot of fun listening to Flemyng's funny and humble interview, being greeted by Rod Smith, the film's producer, getting to personally thank Dexter Fletcher for giving us the brilliant Eddie The Eagle and grab a few epic pictures. (Plus the added bonus of drinks, amazing sausages and burger sliders.) This went on for a good, but fast couple of hours before we made our way to the legendary Prince Charles Cinema to be seated for the premiere.
(From left to right: Me, Dexter Fletcher, Jason Flemyng & Bob Brockwell.)
Flemyng hails from the same camp of Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn having starred in their own directorial debuts, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake and a vast majority of both their catalogues. This reminded that Flemyng, comes from a very special and cool school of British cinema, he has been there since the beginning of their careers and he hasn't left the scene, which made me realise that this film is made on the foundation love and friendship. Just looking at the impressive casting proves that.
It's about a council of high-ranking vampires forming a meeting to discuss their current position within the world, negotiating quotas, territories and a possible new recruit. All this while a military force converges and lays siege on their farmhouse headquarters ensuring plenty of bullets, blood and bodies.
Among the casting is Dare Devil's Matt Murdoch, Charlie Cox, Lock, Stock stars, Nick Moran and Dexter Fletcher, Doctor Who's Martha Jones, Freema Agyeman, Pirate and Office star, Mackenzie Crook, 300's Vincent Regan and One Foot In Grave's Margaret Meldrew, Annette Crosbie who's equally brilliant and deadly with a machine gun. There's a load more, many coming from that same camp again and newcomer Billy Cook really does well as the Jack the Lad, unsuspecting candidate of next vampire overlord.
It has a basic premise that's fun and could well be a distant cousin to the British cult classic, Dog Soldiers. It has a comical script which doesn't take itself too seriously. It's more of a comedy than anything else, even being quite politically satirical but that's not to put anyone off, just don't go in with expectations of it being a jumpfest, though there are a couple of scares.
There's some impressive shots, well thought out angles and some promising sequences. It must have been such a challenge when trying to get the lighting just right. Nice touches with the visuals and the sound editing was on point with loud gunfire and typical, gory sound effects. It was also really nice to see some classic, closing credit style being used, putting names to faces.
It's not quite of the same calibre as Lock, Stock or Layer Cake but it certainly has all the elements of being a cult classic and Flemyng proves he's got a great eye for directing, displaying his potential. Can't wait to see what is next on his list. It's a lot of fun with some great little scenes, and whilst the budget does show, it's a might fine dark comedy Flemyng and crew should be proud of.
Running Time: 7
The Cast: 8
Performance: 6
Direction: 7
Story: 6
Script: 6
Creativity: 7
Soundtrack: 3
Job Description: 7
The Extra Bonus Point: 10 making us feel welcome at the premiere and being an amazing bunch of people, seeing the inner workings behind the film that make it impossible to dislike the movie.
67% 7/10
