EATERS

Female infertility was driving humanity toward a dark future, probably doomed to the extinction of the human race. But a cure for the scourge of zero births leads to an even worse plague: an epidemic of the undead! After the apocalypse resulting from this situation, some outposts of survivors do everything they can to find a reason to live. Some have abandoned themselves to madness, others to violence made of deadly games and small dictatorial regimes. In this environment, two brave soldiers move, searching for survivors to bring to safety in their outpost as well as non-dead guinea pigs to deliver to a scientist who is looking for a cure against the virus that transforms humans into zombies. It may seem overdone the zombie movie in recent years, but a completely Italian product was missing. The dear undead have been seen and glimpsed in several short films of national production (including absolutely "L’estate fredda" by Claudio Tacchi and its sequel) and also in the fun "Bloodline" by Edo Tagliavini, but a film all zombies and reality devastated by a killer virus there was not. It was only a matter of time and even the reborn Italian genre cinema would contribute to giving new flesh to the post-modern undead. Luca Boni and Marco Ristori, two young filmmakers, thought about it with "Eaters" sign their first feature film, clearly looking at the international market. Yes, because "Eaters" is a zombie movie with a broad scope that is evidently born from the idea of pleasing a geographically more dispersed audience possible and this is noticeable already from the idea of not wanting to define the geographical locations of the action in a specific way (but the Anglo-Saxon names of the characters already suggest that it is not Italy). The rhythms, the scenarios and the zombies themselves are American-style, inspired by the high concept of the reborn zombie genre post-2000, with science fiction concessions, post-apocalyptic scenarios, fast and angry zombies and a primary responsibility for science for the cause of the disaster. In the end, "Eaters" is a successful experiment, a great horror that has the great merit of seeming much richer than it actually is. Indeed, the film produced by Extremevideo, of which the directors themselves are part, was shot with a really very low budget (we are well below 50 thousand euros) but looking at the result you would not say so, since the production has managed to employ the best resources, investing in excellent post-production and maximizing the strong elements available. First of all, a special mention goes to the makeup effects curated by David Bracci (also in the role of producer) who gives life (pardon the pun) to very well-cared-for and scary zombies that really have nothing to envy to those present in American blockbusters. Then, a great job is noticed on the locations and the backgrounds added in post-production, not to mention the photography of Paco Ferrari which focuses a lot on muted colors and grayish tones, perfectly in tune with the funeral atmosphere of the film. Unexpected for an independent zombie movie is the committed care for the delineation of the characters. In general, in these works, everything is focused on splatter excesses that tend to entertain the viewer without engaging him in a vision that could also be pedantic and repetitive, instead in "Eaters", without neglecting the bloody moments that characterize the genre, it is also possible to give life to memorable characters that are not simple accessories to the "mess" zombie brought on stage. In particular, Igor, played by a brilliant Alex Lucchesi ("Piano 17"), is one of those memorable characters capable of supporting an entire film: the tough guy who spouts hero lines from action movies on every occasion. But these are not punchlines for their own sake that just want to wink at the muscular cinema of the 1980s, but a precise characterization of an ironic character who is also fundamental in the story. The same can be said of Alen, played by Guglielmo Favilla ("L’Ispettore Coliandro"), the "normal" protagonist forced to fight not only against the monsters that populate the city but also against his own inner demons and a past that does not want to leave him. The picture of beautiful characters is completed by the scientist Gyno (Claudio Marmugi, who also appeared in "La prima cosa bella"), a key character with a thousand facets, and the beautiful Alexis (Rossella Elmi), a healthy carrier of the virus who represents both a threat and salvation for humanity. But I could also go on, because among "tiny" emulators of Hitler (Fabiano Lioi), tough girls (Elisa Ferretti) and a group of terrible neo-Nazis, "Eaters" really includes a wide range of over-the-top and memorable characters. A criticism that must inevitably be moved to the film by Boni and Ristori is the construction of the action scenes. In the most common cinematic sense, there is not much action, but those scenes that show hand-to-hand combat and with firearms are not well managed. They lack a good choreography and in the overall view they appear awkward and poorly edited. It must be said that in some points even the rhythm, anyway tight for the multitude of events, shows a bit of breath, giving the impression that thinned out by a dozen minutes the film could have been more fluid. These are, however, minor flaws in a product that certainly leaves its mark, a perfect example of optimal use of the resources available. Curiosity. "Eaters" benefited from the support of German director Uwe Boll, who promoted the project by lending his name and personally taking care of finding international distribution for the film through his label.