BOTTOM FEEDER

Charles Deaver is an eccentric millionaire horribly disfigured after a car accident. To remedy the obvious burns covering much of his body, Charles contacts the scientist Nathaniel Leech, who seems to have found a serum capable of regenerating human tissues. But the serum, like any other medical object, can have side effects: if used in excessive quantities and without the support of special microproteins designed to satisfy the growing nutritional impulse, the serum can cause an acceleration and distortion of the metamorphic process. To test the effectiveness of the product, Charles Deaver has a considerable amount of serum injected into Dr. Leech, then locks him in the basement of an abandoned hospital. The result will not be as desired, and Nathaniel Leech will soon transform into a ravenous and repulsive creature. Ludwig Feuerbach, founder of 19th-century philosophical atheism and a prominent figure within the Left Hegelians, in 1862 elaborates a deeply philanthropic theory of food in which a maxim is expressed destined not only to become the cornerstone of his entire thought but also to mark the history of 19th-century philosophy: "Man is what he eats!" Never was there a truer statement for Randy Daudlin, who writes and directs this tasty work ready to transform the aforementioned philosophical thought into horror sauce. Feuerbach's theory, in fact, serves as a narrative inspiration for the evolution of a delicious old-fashioned monster movie featuring a creature involved in a rapid metamorphosis and forced to assume the appearance of what it devours throughout the time the transformation process is not complete. We will thus have the opportunity to admire an interesting hybrid being halfway between a man, a dog, and especially a rat. Yes, because what can be considered the film's main attraction is none other than a bloodthirsty man-rat that roams the basements of an abandoned building with the intention of feeding on anyone who comes in its way. But forget about the talkative rodents in red shorts that Walt Disney introduced us to, forget about that little mouse named Gigio who enchanted millions of children with his "What do you say!", the man-rat of "Bottom Feeder" is a repulsive and slimy creature that seems to have come out of some old 1980s series B production and was made, to make everything even more fascinating, with excellent old-style makeup effects that never give way to the uncomfortable but much sought-after computer graphic effects. Beyond intelligent, albeit unusual, references to philosophical concepts and beyond a particularly inspired villain, one cannot say that this "Bottom Feeder" is capable of distinguishing itself from the masses for other particular merits. It is indeed a common survival horror with a small number of unfortunate people locked in the building's basements and forced to run from one corridor to another to escape the pitiless murderous fury of the creature. A film with a well-known narrative structure and not dissimilar from many others, true, but this is not a good reason to ignore and/or snub the film given that it perfectly achieves the only goal it set for itself: to entertain the viewer by amusing them for just under eighty minutes. It is difficult to get distracted, get bored, and not be involved in the film's narrative iteration given that at the base of the project a screenplay is not exactly made of steel (a few too many stereotypes and a few small banalities here and there) but particularly fluid and filled with some sparkling dialogue, intended to wink gracefully at comedy, capable of adding a touch of liveliness to the whole story. Convincing also appears the acting department, among whom it is possible to recognize a Tom Sizemore ("Strange Days", "Saving Private Ryan") in good shape, as well as the direction and the grandguignolesque department that does not hesitate to show decapitations, mutilations, and mandibular extractions. The only negative note can be found in the lack of care for the photography, which instead of favoring particular chromatisms, which would certainly have benefited the final result, gives in to rather flat and television-like resolutions. But in conclusion, this "Bottom Feeder" turns out to be a delicious and carefree series B production with no pretensions other than entertainment. For us, the goal is achieved!