PopHorror Let's Get Scared
For the last five years, all I’ve wanted to do is go camping in the summer. Life always gets in the way, and before I know it, another year goes by and camping did not happen. After watching Feral, I am now grateful that those plans have always fallen through. Directed by Mark Young and starring Scout Taylor-Compton (Rob Zombie’s Halloween), Feral is a film that follows a group of friends who stumble upon a nasty virus that it infects them one by one. If you catch the disease, you slowly start transforming into a feral, zombie-like creature. Probably not the best way to spend your weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBkZR-s_ybg
Unlike the slow-moving zombies that we typically see, Feral’s zombies are fast, frenzied, terrifying creatures who don’t just crave brains… they want your blood and guts as well. Upon hearing the synopsis, I was dying to see this movie. I am a giant fan of Scout Taylor-Compton ever since she re-imagined Laurie Strode so perfectly. It is rare that an actor can take such a beloved character and turn it into their own. How did she fair as the lead woman in this Feral? Did the film live up to my expectations, or did it leave me wishing that I had caught this rabid disease?
What Works:
Feral does an excellent job with practical effects, an art form I’m thrilled to see is making a comeback. The gore in this film is more than enough to satisfy those who crave splashing blood and ripping guts as a chaser for their horror viewing. The makeup on the infected is never hokey but instead, completely terrifying, kicking my heart into overdrive anytime they popped up on my screen.
The acting in Feral is also top notch. Besides Scout Taylor-Compton, the film also stars Lew Temple (The Walking Dead, 31), Olivia Luccardi (It Follows 2015), Renee Olstead (Unfriended 2014), Brock Kelly (Desolation 2018), Landry Allbright (Con Air 1997) and George Finn (Time Lapse 2014). As a fan of indie films, it is always a risk on whether or not the acting is going to be up to par. With Scout’s resume, it was a given that she would be able to pull off her role, and I was thrilled to see that her co-stars kept up with her effortlessly, pulling off the immersion factor that is a requirement for this type of film. You feel so isolated during Feral and that “abandon all hope” mindset takes over pretty quickly.
To finish off the feeling of complete submergence, Feral needed one more ingredient, one I went over in a previous article… character development. The filmmakers gave us around forty minutes to get to know each of the characters and the dynamic between everyone. This is monumentally important in a horror film, especially when there are a limited number of characters and we need to care about them to fear for them. So, how can a film that has all of the proper ingredients still have a “What Doesn’t Work” section?
What Doesn’t Work:
Even with the great makeup effects, superb acting, and thorough character development, there still can be stumbles. It doesn’t make it a bad movie, but it does take away from the effect of the final product. Great horror movies leave you with a lasting feeling after the credits roll. Feral falls short of that, because unfortunately, they did not execute enough suspense.
Even though I was immersed with the characters, the chase scenes even felt like they were over too soon. In fact, any time a scene was supposed to have a terrifying obstacle, the threat ended a few seconds later. This film took the time to get us invested in its characters. It should follow up with making us terrified to lose them. For me, I never really felt like they were in danger, and it felt like they had it under control the entire time. Basically, the creatures were more of an inconvenience than a threat.
Final Thoughts:
I honestly enjoyed Feral. There were a few characters I loved quite a bit and enjoyed watching their stories unfold. I was satisfied with the ending and thought that the actors did their job in making their roles three dimensional. The makeup effects were top-notch, and the pacing was very well done. Even with all of that, it still felt like Feral was missing the suspense factor that I was craving.
So, with a minor markdown for suspense, I would give Feral a 7.5/10. I recommend you all check it out on May 25th when it releases VOD and in select theaters. Even with this setback, Feral is an entertaining ride, and it is a perfect film to cuddle up with someone on a rainy night and enjoy. I also would be super interested in seeing how it plays out on a big screen.
