Netflix'ns: Flesh Freaks

Netflix'ns is a series of review shorts of films discovered on Netflix, be it DVD or streaming. For better or worse, I sat through these films and have lived to tell the tale. These are not so much reviews as just comments on the film watched. This is also a work in progress.



Flesh Freaks is a no-budget movie shot on video and released back in 2000. Now, in order to make it all the way through writer/director Conall Pendergast's zombie-flick-on-a-budget, you must have a high threshold for zero-budget movies. Seriously, this is a movie that suffers from a severe lack of funds, from what looks like stock footage, to the poor performances, to the papier mache zombie masks add up to a trying experience.

With that said, it does take a certain movie fan to enjoy something like this and I am not sure I am the right guy for the job. Flesh Freaks did threaten to separate me from my consciousness. However, I made it through and I am glad I did. Yes, it is a little slow going, but it was clearly made with love and energy (as surprising as it may sound). They got a lot from very little. There are zombies and alien bugs, and head piercings, some blood, and some good ideas blended with a desire to make a feature.

The plot is kicked off by a student returning from South America where he witnessed some terrible event that left him the lone survivor. The problem is that something hitched a ride back with him and before you know it, he and his friends are faced with a zombie epidemic. It is slow and talky early on, but it gets better towards the end as we get the goofy zombie heads and a nice dose of violence.

If you like low/no budget movies, or are a zombie completist, give it ago. Just let it be known that it is far, far from a must see. Respect given to their attempt, no doubt.