Director(s): Aimee Kuge
Writer(s):   Aimee Kuge
Starring: Nate Wise, April Consalo, Clay Von Carlowitz
Runtime: 1h 43 minutes
Rating: NR
Our Rating: ★★½ 

Shy and looking for love, Mark quickly becomes smitten with the outgoing and mysterious Ash, who somehow, much to his surprise, reciprocates the attraction. But as his feelings for her intensify, so does his unexpected submersion into Ash’s biggest love: the wild world of mukbanging. And with it, lots of bloodshed.

When I first watched the trailer and saw the poster for Cannibal Mukbang I immediately thought of iZombie and Dexter. After watching the film my thoughts have changed. Although at the start of the film there is a bit of camp à la iZombie, the character Ash initially presents herself as a young woman who just lives this whimsical good time type of life doing harmless mukbang videos. And Mark is a listless directionless young man who has finally meets a girl that understands him and likes him despite him being nothing special. However, about 20 minutes in you realize this whole story is darker than what is on the surface.

Spoiler Alert: Turn back now if you do not want spoilers – save yourself.

Ash is a serial killer in the style of Jeffrey Dahmer. Mark has a metal plate is his head from being in a car accident as a child that killed his parents. After a few dates, Mark joins Ash on her literal appetite for destruction crime spree. During the second half of the film, you get Ash’s very tragic backstory that attempts to explain why she has become this person. We also get a little more of Mark’s story and an introduction to his dude-bro brother Maverick.

There is a decent body count and also à la Dexter – a kill room, where Ash brings her victims. The movie has a runtime of one hour and forty-three minutes and its pacing is slow and drags in the middle of the film. They could have shaved about 15 minutes off and it might have improved the film’s flow. The actors do a decent job, although the actor playing Maverick does not really sell his hypermasculine male characteristics that well. (BTW, that’s a good thing.)

Even though this film involves food, and mukbang, the food in this film could not be anymore unappetizing. I also thought about the tv show Hannibal that starred Mads Mikkelsen while watching this. Even though Lecter was a cannibal they did make food that looked amazingly appealing – just saying. Overall, it’s a respectable film from a first-time film maker and an indie studio. The film stars: Nate Wise, April Consalo, and Clay Von Carlowitz. It’s written and directed by Aimee Kuge.

Cannibal Mukbang is out on digital and On Demand on March 25th and on Blu-Ray on April 22nd.