Eat Locals Review

4 stars of fabulously dark British horror comedy.

Eat locals is written by Danny King (Wild Bill) and is the impressive directorial debut of Jason Flemyng (Snatch, I Give it a Year), featuring the reunited cast of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

“Come on. All those migrants coming in clinging to the underside of vehicles. No-one’s going to miss a few of them.”

It tells us the story of a group of British vampires. As they do every fifty years, the eight meet at a secluded location, a farmhouse in this case, to discuss various issues such as food stocks and distribution of territory. Britain is a small island which can cause problems of over-feeding and one of them, Thomas (Jordan Long – Stardust, Shifty) has been doing just that, with local children.

The council has decreed that the punishment for this is death, so the Duke (Vincent Regan – 300, Troy) oversees his execution. Knowing this would leave them one member short, they have arranged for Vanessa (Eve Myles – Torchwood, Framed) to find them a human to be converted and take his place.

She has chosen Sebastian (Billy Cook – Trespass Against Us), a twelfth generation Romany orphan who seems perfect for the job. A vote is taken and it’s a yes from the rest of the vampires, Henry (Charlie Cox – Star Dust, Stone of Destiny), Angel (Freema Agyeman – Doctor Who, Sense8),  Alice (Annette Crosbie – One foot in the Grave) and Chen (Lukaz Leong – Rogue One). However, the motion is blocked by Peter Boniface (Tony Curran – The Adventures of Tintin, Underworld: Evolution), leaving Sebastian fearing for his life.

In the meantime, outside and surrounding the farmhouse an over zealous army padre, Larousse (Mackenzie Crook – Pirates of the Caribbean, Detectorists) is leading an offensive against the farmhouse. The colonel (Robert Portal – My Week with Marilyn) has his work cut out against that many vampires, but he is resourceful and they must learn to work together if they wish to survive the night.

Eat Locals is a typically hilarious British horror comedy, beautifully written and directed and featuring a glorious cast of British talent.

There are lots of standout performances, Annette Crosbie is fantastic and seems to be having a great time and Dexter Fletcher (Smoking Guns ) and Ruth Jones (Gavin and Stacey) are great as the farmhouse owners. It’s packed with both laugh out loud moments and a satisfying quantity of gore, which all works in perfect bloody harmony.

Eat Locals is a must watch for fans of the genre, it certainly won’t disappoint.

“I don’t like ’em over 60, too gamey for my taste.”

Eat Locals will be available to own on DVD and Blu-ray from 30th October 2017.