Boy Eats Girl

I didn't expect a whole lot from this movie, and to be honest I didn't get that much. From the onset the movie was pretty tame and I felt the set up was a bit long, I was praying for the carnage to just start already. However once it did, the movie found some very funny moments. The main characters weren't all that compelling but the two comic relief friends Diggs (Tadhg Murphy) and Henry (Laurence Kinlan) did manage to get a few good lines in. The movie had its share of plot holes (quite a few of these were pretty big.)

But on the whole I did find it funny and I was smiling by the end so it wasn't too bad, just nothing to write home about. I felt it tried a little too hard to fit with what are usually American high school stereotypes and could have been a little more homegrown. The over the top gore (which was my whole reason for viewing) was good but the movie ended very quickly and after such a long set up I was a little disappointed. All in all a vaguely entertaining watch with a few (but not enough)laughs.

I was of course drawn to "Boy Eats Girl" because it is a zombie movie, but also because of the pun title of the movie. And I am a sucker for anything zombie. I watched this movie back in 2005 or 2006, and then decided to revisit it again in 2019 and actually getting around to making a review of it.

While "Boy Eats Girl" is a zombie movie, it wasn't really all that great, and I did remember it as being a funny movie from back around 2005-2006 when I first saw it. I guess my memory of the movie was off. Watching it again in 2019, I can honestly say that the movie is definitely watchable, but it is by no account a great addition to the zombie genre.

There wasn't enough gore and zombie make-up or special effects to keep me properly entertained. I guess I am just way too seasoned when it comes to zombie movies and have a certain standard that I would like movies to have. "Boy Eats Girl" wasn't one such movie.

It pains me to the very core when I see the zombies or infected running around and sprinting. Sure, it makes enough physiological sense when they return from the dead before rigor mortis has set in. But it just doesn't feel right, it is as if that shambling zombie feel is a must for a zombie to be scary for me.

While the characters in the movie were pretty much stereotypical and generic college student, I will say that David Leon was actually the primary force driving the entire movie with his performance, and he was also the one with the more detailed and meaningful character.

For a zombie movie, then "Boy Eats Girl" holds very little aside from a hilarious movie title. If you've seen it once, then chances are slim that you will return to watch it again. I know that I will not be returning again, now that I have my memory refreshed and up to date on the movie.

Part satire and part romantic-comedy, Boy Eats Girl should be looked upon as a homage to the classic 70s horror genre and not a poor effort at recreating the success of Shaun of the Dead. Hailing from Ireland, it takes plenty of liberties in its character's settings and mannerisms. Not wholly European as you'd expect but it works on most levels, just not so much on the humour however.

Nathan (David Leon) is the heartbroken teenager who accidentally kills himself after making the mistake of witnessing the love of his young teenage life, Jessica (Irish pop sensation, Samantha Mumba) in a compromising situation with his school's Lothario. Nathan's mother (Deirdre O'Kane) finds his lifeless body in his room and remembers the handy book of resurrection spells that she'd found just days earlier in the bowels of the church that she works at.

As easy as you can say beginner's luck, she manages to bring back her son and gets him ready for the next day of school. Nathan starts to feel the effects of his zombification when he starts to feel impervious to pain and feels hungry all the time. His 2 pals, Henry and Diggs (Laurence Kinlan and Tadhg Murphy) who at times seem even less shiftless than their dead friend, get worried when they see Nathan's disenchantment with Jessica vanish.

At the night's school disco, resident slut and girlfriend of the toughest jock in school, Cheryl (Sara James) propositions Nathan. Not exactly willing to do what Nathan wants from her, she ditches him. Unfortunately for Nathan, the jock boyfriend follows him as he stumbles on to the rugby pitch. Normally, this would be a cakewalk for bully-kind everywhere but Nathan's newfound undead ability of super-strength makes it easy for him to overpower the jock. He finally gives in to temptation and takes a couple of deadly chunks out of him. Nathan runs home and is given the bare bones of his worsening condition by his mother who promptly locks him in the garage as she finds a cure. Things start to get a whole lot worse for him after last night's attack starts a chain reaction of killings, each spawning a much more vicious version of Nathan's condition.

The plot and situation 'borrows' heavily from a handful of movies, especially the 1993 cult classic, My Boyfriend's Back with virtually the same sub-plot of unrequited love between the unfortunate undead and his high-school sweetheart. As most will use Shaun of the Dead as a touchstone in understanding the film's comedy/gore tandem, it's intended use of black comedy and detached humour falls short.

The backyard splatter that comes from fending off ravenous classmates and neighbours is refreshing to see and it does it well. The violence and the reactions of the harried survivors are always tongue-in-cheek which is satisfying, as the zombie horde never comes close to being scary, just downright silly. The flaying of skin and removal of limbs is a requisite in any good romp through a town full of undead. However, the gore starts of perfunctory, not exactly a good sign when it takes almost half the movie to get there.

As the film progresses to its climax, a visible shift in priorities takes place. Suddenly, the story stops and a zombie free-for-all take place, courtesy of a pimped out tractor and surge of adrenaline from the heroine. As the movie is a relatively short enterprise, clocking in at about 77 minutes (including credits), it almost makes up for the lack of spilled blood and guts when the horror aspect of the film finally kicks in.

Most satires succumb to taking themselves too seriously at some point in their films and Boy Eats Girl is no different. The romance between Nathan and Jessica felt too overdone in the beginning, leading to the most controversial scene in the movie that initially got it banned in its native Ireland. The attempted suicide scene was clumsy and awkward; not exactly an endorsement for depressed teenagers everywhere.

The film starts out slow, working out the set-up of the eventual suicide that triggers the rest of the plot, leaving just a third of the movie for bona fide zombie mayhem. Each transition is disjointed and rushed, especially the weak example of a deus ex machina during the last minutes of the film.

The 1-note characters and unresolved story lines are indicative of the apathetic acting and lack of fleshed out character development. Mumba does not show any signs of being a tough female character in the beginning, making a transformation into the movie's heroine seem out of character. Leon's Nathan seems too self-aware and confident to pull off being the angst-ridden chump who finds it hard to bring up his true feelings around Jessica.

From start to end, its campy throwback to nonsensical horror-comedy masks over its inability to find its feet and its problematic attempts at satire. Suffering from a painfully short running time and an overly brisk pacing, Boy Eats Girl does not fulfill the potential that it has. What it does achieve is a quick and harmless way to spend just over an hour when bored.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Boy Eats Girl is the kind of film to watch when you're in a non-committal mood, something that demands only vague attention and which doesn't try to be clever. If you want a horror or a zombie movie then look elsewhere, it's neither nor does it try to be.

It is a comedy, let's get it straight right now, not a zombie film. Romero's legacy to pop culture and the film industry certainly gets a good outing here, but this isn't a film to make gorehounds feel fat and happy, nor will zombie purists find anything to debate over.

A lot of the characters are like those from sappy American Teen comedies but with Irish accents and in situations involving blood and throw-away limbs.

Perhaps this helps: It's California Man with gore.

It entertained me for the short running time (about an hour I made it) and I liked it enough to cough up £5 for it. If you give it a chance as a silly gory comedy, you may well like it too.

This movie got the bad taste out of my mouth, after seeing blood car, this movie however is was fun movie.

Even this movie had stereotype teens, who looked like they in mids 20's playing teens, if you can get past that.

You end up really enjoying this movie.

A boy declares his love for his girlfriend, only to die the same night. He is brought back to life by his mother, as a flesh-craving zombie

I found this movie so-what Original, with mum bringing back her son after he killed himself.

Also enjoyed some really decent funny moments, that work really well with the rest of the movie.

There were some really good bloody messy scenes, which were fun to watch. 7 out of 10