Flesh Feast

Without a doubt one of the most attractive and seductive ladies of the silver screen was Veronica Lake. She had a distinctive look and a distinctive quality that few actresses were ever able to duplicate. With such landmark films as Sullivan's Travels, The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia, and This Gun for Hire under her belt, Veronica was a a star of epic proportions, and then things fell apart. She made a string of poorly conceived and received films, spiraled into the dark world of alcoholism and faded into obscurity. She died in the early 70's at the age of 53 from hepatitis. The 4'11 blonde bombshell reduced to an obscure reminder of a faded glory. Before her unfortunately uneventful death, Veronica made one last film in 1970 called Flesh Feast. The premise for Flesh Feast is as follows: a female doctor once connected with the Third Reich has developed a way to make men look younger through a treatment of using maggots, that have fed on human flesh, applied to their face. Intrigue abounds as former Nazis(strangely most of them having fake Italian accents)congregate in this home where science is buzzing with new scientific progress. The doctor and her espionage friends are waiting for Mr. Big to come. Well, to tell you any more would ruin the inane ending. It certainly is a very poorly crafted story. The film is poorly made on so many levels. You know you are in trouble when the name of the actor with top billing AFTER Ms. Lake is named Phil Philbin. I laughed for minutes seeing just his name and knew where this film was going: no where. There is almost no blood in this film. There are no scary moments. There is no suspense. The film seems to be nothing more than a few guys getting together in Florida with a personal movie camera and shooting the film. Of course it is the presence of Veronica Lake that is being sold. She had not made a movie at this time in five years and only one in the last ten years. It seems that alcohol had become such a part of her life that she was once found as a barmaid in a hotel. Ms. Lake gives a stilted performance at best, but clearly has more talent than anyone involved in front or behind the camera. The director shows her in those old woman pant suits so fashionable then...and now...and never tries to copy the common sense of Ms. Lake's previous directors. When your leading lady is 4'11, you just don't shoot wide shots that make her look like an aged midget against the backdrop of everything and everyone. Veronica has put some weight on and her face is a bit pudgy, but you can tell it is her. She still has that sparkle in her eyes. Although the movie is God awful in almost every way, it certainly should be seen for its value as a cinematic oddity. It is one of the rare chances of seeing a star that burned out... to soon. Fortunately for me, I shall always remember Ms. Lake for her films with Alan Ladd. They were Veronica Lake at her best. But I will remember Flesh Feast as well. It is not good nor horrifying, but a sad reminder what happened to such a wonderful actress.

I'm always game for low budget films of any genre because every now and again you run across a gem. "Detour" has popped up as a noir masterpiece and "Night of the Living Dead" has become a cult classic. So maybe "Flesh Feast" would be worth a look. That was my first mistake.

It appears that there is not much story line and what there is makes no sense...maggots that chomp on your face and reverse the aging process....huh?? And then Adolph Hitler pops up. But besides this weak premise, there is absolutely nothing to recommend about this film. It appears to be shot in somebody's basement with an old Bell and Howell home movie camera. The acting of all involved is atrocious which leads me to Veronica Lake.

I realize that Miss Lake was down on her luck and had alcohol and mental problems but was it so bad that she had to end her career with this horror? I don't have to review her career from the 1940s and her wonderful films with Alan Ladd. She was the pin-up girl with the hair to die for. Her descent into oblivion really started when she cut her peekaboo hair and it was suddenly revealed that she really wasn't quite as beautiful as she appeared. Since her stardom depended upon her looks rather than her talent, it was all down hill. Luckily, many of her fans don't even know that this film exists and it is just as well. To see her fall to these depths is so very sad. She was such a treasure of her time.

Avoid this film at all costs. It has no redeeming qualities and will only depress you to see Miss Lake hitting bottom.

This is a legendary, seedy and satisfying horror movie. The camera work and special effects are outstanding considering the production date of this scary masterpiece. The story line could have been ironed out allot more before production, but who would have ever dreamt up a movie about flesh eating maggots? I recommend you watch this film before making any purchase, but I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

Yes, this is an awfully conceived, shot, acted and presented film, truly the bottom of the barrel.

However, a lot of comments here about how bad Lake looked, and how sad and horrible this is.

Yes, she had aged due to alcohol. So did a lot of actors and actresses. And she had health issues that killed her just a few years later. But I would temper that by suggesting a viewing of the Dick Cavett interview with her a year after this film (you can see it on youtube). You might be surprised. She is apparently happy, good humored, talkative, bright and intelligent. She was once asked to accept $100,000 to marry a guy that wanted to be able to say "I was married to Veronica Lake" and she could divorce him in Reno immediately afterwards! She would not agree to that, even in writing, for her kids' sake of hearing her mom did something so foolish. She then remarked "I wish I had the offer now!" making one conclude that she didn't have a ton of money.

She looked much older in the interview than she was, due to drinking and I would also say smoking a lot. But she looked a lot better than in the movie.

One should keep in mind that Lake had the intellect to know that this was a goofy movie, she could use the money, and just went for it. She is laughing in the movie like a crazy witch, mugging the camera, intentionally looking as bad as possible. She knew exactly what she was doing, creating a monstrous character with little to work with production-wise.

Watch the Cavett interview and you will rest easier knowing that, although she had heath issues, she wasn't nearly the sad basket case that commenters here seem to believe.

Flesh Feast is a film not worth viewing or seeing, it was sad to see Veronica Lake make this her last film. She was a pin-up girl for our G.I.'s during World War II and had great sex appeal with her sexy hair style covering her eye. Veronica was not appreciated by the film industry who placed her in B movies throughout her career. This film was her last effort to get back into the business after a long struggle with drinking problems. Flesh Feast and its maggots are all for the garbage can.