Feed (2005)

	Directed by: Brett Leonard	COUNTRY Australia GENRE Horror/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Feed RUNNING TIME 97 minutes
	Produced by: Melissa Beauford
	Written by: Kieran Galvin

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Michael Carter	Alex O'Loughlin
Philip Jackson	Patrick Thompson
Deidre	Gabby Millgate	½
Richard	Jack Thompson
Abbey	Rose Ashton

Review

Feed is a revolting and ugly film with a very charismatic bad guy and a very annoying, senseless "hero". This atypical, unorthodoxly clever approach makes it intriguing, while also making you a little uncomfortable in your chair. Alex O'Loughlin, the actor, might just be something of a catch. He certainly knows how to have fun with his highly... well, flamboyant character. Perhaps more surprisingly, his performance also has quite a bit of depth. He is a magnetic presence that keeps Feed slightly interesting even when it is taken over by formulaic, generic ridicule, and we're just waiting for someone to put someone out of their misery.

Until then, the film is carried by a fine initial premise which opens a lot of opportunities. In the (soon to be overexposed) trend of depicting various paraphilias and sexual deviations on film, we're this time brought along to the world of feeders and gainers. In this world, the feeder (here a man) will be sexually aroused and satisfy a mental need when excessively feeding, and thus controlling, the gainer. The paraphilia in itself raises several interesting ethical and behavioural questions, some of which are discussed satisfactorily here, though many of which are just touched upon on the film's way to its ultimate goal: creating a horribly formulaic and characterologically flat one-on-one between the two aforementioned protagonists. The only interesting aspect to this is the ambivalence in the set of moral principles that the two leads represent. Unfortunately, the logic of the plot, quality of the dialogue, and authenticity of the characters are nowhere near the level necessary to make Feed truly memorable.