Life Among the Cannibals

Every so often a film comes along, that you discover all by yourself, that turns out to be a little classic. You know, the ones you recommend to all your mates, and then get ticked off when everybody starts to discover it. This is one of those films.

I'm not going to tell you anything about it. I don't want to spoil anything, but I must say that every member of the cast plays a stellar performance, especially Juliet Landau (of tvs Buffy fame), who is absolutely superb as the high-maintenance girlfriend from hell. Jaspers boss, an alcoholic ex-TV star who has hit rock bottom due to a chin implant operation that went wrong has some classic lines himself. What are you waiting for....go and rent it out already!!!

After leaving his crazy girlfriend, Hollywood personal assistant Jasper James (Kieran Mulroney, brother of Dermot) finds a house to rent in L. A. for cheap. The owners (Mason Adams and Bette Moore) are an elderly couple who are very picky about who they rent to on the block and it seems idyllic. Unfortunately, Jasper encounters trouble the first night when his neighbor Troy (Daryl Haney, who also wrote this) blasts bizarre industrial music at all hours. Digging deeper, he soon finds out that Troy might be a serial killer and decides he might be able to use this to his advantage.

Wow, this was a strange one. Director Harry Bromley Davenport spent a decade plus making three XTRO movies, so a dark comedy satire was probably the last thing I expected from him. Sometimes it is clever, sometimes it is a tad annoying (the stuff with the girlfriend played by Juliet Landau), but it is pretty unique. Sure, the set up is similar to The 'Burbs (1989) but it goes in different directions. A strange sampling: After every murder two detectives come to visit Jasper, but they never care about the crimes and always invite themselves in to play cards. Also featuring Wings Hauser as a washed up actor whose face was disfigured when his chin implant was knocked loose in a fight. Yes, really. This got a VHS release in the UK, but as far as I can tell has had no US home video release.

This low budget independent film attempts what could be a meaningful satirical commentary on the blithely accepted brutality of modern American consumer culture. Instead, we're treated to a hackneyed and insincere exercise in drab self-consciousness. Kieran Mulroney's transformation feels false and mechanical as he smirks his way through the dry and predictable storyline. Juliet Landau, otherwise memorable for her roles in "Ed Wood" and "Buffy", bluffs her way through a shockingly lackluster performance here. All in all a disappointment.

I didn't check out this movie cause I thought I was going to awaken a deep state of consciousness. I watched it because it looked dark and creepy. It was. And it was funny. And I would consider it a cult classic gem that people should watch with friends, popcorn, and beer.

Yes, the characters are two dimensional and the actors are not always the most subtle or the most expressive but I was engaged in the story and found it all together entertaining. I especially liked Troy and consider him to be the everyman's hero of 1996. Also, the camp dialogue has some fantastic quotable lines that you may find running through your head the next day and will not be sure where they came from.

This is really a gem! You have to see this one! I had not expected this movie to be that good. Kieran Mulroney is really brilliant in his role,and the story is great. Mulroney plays a tenant in a neighborhood from hell(after leaving his girlfriend from hell!). He finds out that his neighbor is a serial killer, and everything develops outrageously from there. It is really hilarious, so if you like scary movies with a funny twist, this is brilliant. Don't let yourself be prevented from seeing this movie, go to every possible measure to see it! If you don't like it I will certainly be surprised. It could be difficult to get hold of, but believe me, it's worth it!