FrightFest Movie Haiku - Dead Meat

www.deadmeatthemovie.com


Dir: Conor McMahon


Cast: Marian Araujo, David Muyllaert, Eoin Whelan, David Ryan


Mad cow disease strikes

turns Irish into zombies

they say fuck a lot


The whole rural British horror sub-genre was really done to death at this year's festival, and this one suffered from poor scheduling, coming as the Dead Meat in the sandwich of the similarly themed Evil Aliens and Wild Country. Of all the films screened over the four days, this is the one I remember least about. Basically the plot revolves around infected cows, zombies and blokes with thick Irish accents. Looking back at my hastily scribbled notes I can read, “Evil Dead camera,” referring to a scene where the camera flies through the farmhouse where our protagonists are holed up, and the rather more obtuse, “Irish – fuck.” Quite what those two words were meant to tell me has since been wiped clean by the fourteen movies that followed, but I’m guessing that it was a reference to gratuitous swearing rather than any gratuitous sex – I’m sure I’d have remembered more clearly if it had been the latter. Interestingly Dead Meat is one of the first titles to be picked up for release on the new FrightFest Presents DVD label, and should be available to buy from October. I look forward to watching it again at home – away from the demands of the festival environment - and seeing if it stands out better on second viewing.

soulmining rating: **