When it comes to horror movies, Feast is about as unpretentious as you can get. The movie isn't perfect, but it never pretends to be more than the insanely gory and over-the-top horror opus it is. 

Feast's set-up is a simple one. A handful of random folks have gathered to drink the night away at a ramshackle tavern out in the middle of nowhere. This film doesn't bother with names, boiling monikers down to basic role descriptions like Bozo (Balthazar Getty), Beer Guy (Judah Friedlander), and Bartender (Clu Gulager). Then out of the night, in bursts a bruised and bloodied man, carrying not only the head of an ugly monster but also a terrifying message: these creatures are fast, hungry -- and heading right for the bar.

In no time, a group of monsters have beseiged the place, making mincemeat out of a couple patrons before the remaining survivors manage to board themselves up. With the vicious and highly-intelligent creatures still outside and very much determined to get in, those lucky enough to have lived so far must band together and work even harder to make it through the rest of the night.

Feast feels like the result of Tremors and The Descent colliding head on, only this film doesn't quite measure up to the endearing goofiness of the former or the harrowing thrills of the latter. Feast comes across more as a work-in-progress, which isn't surprising, considering the film was the third and apparently final effort from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's "Project Greenlight" contest for budding filmmakers. This is certainly one ambitious movie, often times more alive and energetic than most big-studio fare. However, while watching it, I couldn't help imagine how much more consistent and cool it could've been with a little more time and money to spend.

The movie's energy tends to wane at times, and there are a handful of moments that, had the filmmakers been given the chance to spiff things up a bit would've  been sterling to look at. Feast reminds me of last year's Undead, another film that didn't skimp on the red stuff while trying hard to churn out some funky imagery as compensation for budgetary shortcomings. But, also like Undead, the results here are wildly mixed, and Feast ends up with bits of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Incorporating a scaled-down story, the film spends most of the time on filler that either clicks or doesn't.  Some of the gimmickery works (not even bothering to give the characters true names is a pretty novel idea; that way, everyone has an equal chance of becoming monster fodder), but some, such as the little fact sheets that pop up as the main players are introduced, seem inconsequential. A few of these fact sheets are either ignored or followed to the letter, apparently whenever first-time director John Gulager felt like it.

Filmmakers clearly had a ball here coming up with the monster design and shoving in as many ooey-gooey attacks as they could (the final assault on the bar is definitely not for the squeamish), and the cast (which also includes Henry Rollins as a misguided motivational coach and Kevin Smith staple Jason Mewes as "himself") seem to get along just fine, but the good times had on camera don't translate well for  viewers. Feast can be tons of fun at times, but it's something of a bummer when you finally realize all you are going to see is monsters attacking people in a bar. 

Still, I think Feast is perfect midnight-movie fare. It may not be as wholly consistent as other gross-out horror flicks like Slither or the kind of stuff Peter Jackson did pre-Lord of the Rings, but if gore galore is what you're looking for, then you'll probably have a good time digging into Feast.

MY RATING: ** 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by The Weinstein Company and rated "R" for pervasive strong creature violence and gore, language, some sensualty and drug content.)