Eating Miss Campbell

I grew up with classics like toxic avenger, tromeo and juliet, Nuke Em High... It has been a while since a watched a new Troma release and I was a little worried. Troma movies felt to me as something from the past, difficult to rhyme with the present day. But I glad to say I was wrong. While not a perfect film, director Liam Regan has managed to make a movie that made me realise again why I love Troma productions. It not only feels like a Troma movie in heart and soul, but it also feels fresh. It has all of the edge, goofs and gore you'd expect from a Troma flick, but it also has heart and charm. It made me laugh multiple times, which is rare, even for a comedy. It's not for everyone, but if you are up for a silly, weird, but good time. Crack open a beer, invite some friends and have a bloody good time.

Eating Miss Campbell is the second feature film from subversive Yorkshire-born director Liam Regan.

Every cast member stuns in their performances: Lyndsey Craine is the perfect Gen Y Final Girl, and Lala Barlow brings a feisty energy to the titular Miss Campbell.

Regan perfectly understands the marriage between satire and horror: he blends these elements seamlessly into a script packed with horror, humour, and gore whilst balancing sex appeal alongside self-awareness.

EMC doesn't simply aim to shock: it aims to entertain which it succeeds in doing perfectly.

Troma has never looked so Meta!

I had high hopes for this film with Starburst Magazine saying it was a must watch but I don't know what glue they were smelling. This film is the second attempt at a feature film by Liam Regan but this is a dire attempt at a film. This being a Troma film you would expect a certain level of humour and flavour which you get with Troma films but this has chucked that out of the window for a more insulting sarcastic sense of humour. The story is about a vegan girl who keeps trying to kill herself and at the same time the school she attends has mass school shootings, this comes across in poor taste and I did notice some people actually leave the cinema I saw this at in disgust. The other big issue with this film is every frame it seems to force feed the audience with another Easter egg from a better film or tv series. I only give it 2 stars out of 10 for good costumes, makeup, Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman and Laurence R Harvey.

Right, well when I sat down to watch this 2022 horror comedy titled "Eating Miss Campbell", from writer and director Liam Regan, I didn't know that it was a Troma movie. And had I known that, I might actually have skipped on the movie entirely.

Luckily I didn't know that it was a Troma movie before I had sat down and started the movie. Thus, as the movie was already playing, I opted to give writer and director Liam Regan the benefit of the doubt. And luckily so, because "Eating Miss Campbell" was actually the best of Troma movies I have stumbled upon, not only in writing and story contents, but most certainly also in production value and most likely thus also in budget. This was actually a proper movie whereas the other Troma projects feel like home video projects.

The storyline in "Eating Miss Campbell", as written by Liam Regan, was strange and bizarre, but in an oddly dark, twisted and entertaining manner. There are just so many really far out there things taking place throughout the 84 minutes that the movie ran for. I enjoyed it and was genuinely entertained by the contents delivered by Liam Regan. However, I think that a movie such as "Eating Miss Campbell" is somewhat of a rather acquired taste and it is not one that will easily cater to everyone in the audience.

The only two performers on the cast list that I was familiar with were Laurence R. Harvey and Lloyd Kaufman himself. However, leading actress Lyndsey Craine really carried the movie quite nicely with her performance as Beth Conner.

Visually then I will say that the effects in the movie were quite good. A fair amount of visceral graphic effects, which I definitely enjoyed.

My rating of "Eating Miss Campbell" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Director Liam Regan follows up his debut film My Bloody Banjo (track it down if you haven't seen it) with an absurd, gore filled, hilarious movie about Beth Connor - a Goth, Vegan, Cannibal who falls in love with her high school teacher and to say anymore would spoil the movie! Lyndsey Craine (Book of Monsters) is a superb lead and perfectly plays the "straight man" role in a film filled with wacky characters right out of Tromaville who are sure to delight and offend in equal measure. The supporting cast is wonderful with many familiar faces including Lawrence Harvey (Human Centipede 2) who steals every scene he's in.

I saw the movie at its world premiere at Frightfest London where everyone laughed, cheered and cringed together making this a real highlight of the festival. There are some wild gags in the film, with many characters uttering lines that had the audience in stitches and whilst some may find themselves offended by the subject matter, the jokes are well executed in the context of the film and are a testament to the bold, uncensored film that Liam committed to make.

The other thing that I must compliment is the look of the film which dazzles with a bright, colourful palette akin to an R-rated Nickelodeon show that makes the film so unique. The High School lunch served in one scene is neon green and orange slop (reminded me of the movie Hook) which contrast so well against Beth's black and drab goth look. The sharp Cinematography is complimented with dolly moves and steadicam shots which give the film an expensive, Hollywood feel whist maintaining a late 90's teen movie aesthetic, resulting in one of the best looking Troma films of recent memory.

Well worth watching with company and a few beers on movie night if you are up for some solid laughs, brilliant performances and very icky gore which goes places most horror films wouldn't even dare. A must see for fans of horror comedy and even for those who don't normally take to Troma films.