Feeding the Masses (2004)

So much average

People are voting emotionally.

A Masterpiece!

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

...because 99 out of 100 times, the producers lied through their teeth (or someone else's) to get you to rent or buy their *mercifully censored*.Shock-O-Rama Cinema proves the truth of this yet one more time with the release of "Feeding the Masses," a possibly well-intentioned but utterly inept and dismal entry into the zombie genre. Folks, this is not only low-budget film-making, this is VERY low-budget film-making by a bunch of people who--I'm sorry, I know they have families who love them--will never, ever be in Variety in any significant fashion. This is one baaaaaaaaaad mooin' pitcher, folks, and not just because it's cheap.The acting is mediocre, but I don't blame the actors; they had no direction. They had no direction because the script was a half-baked zombie fantasy with no sense of real cinematic storytelling. Characterization is thin at best, no thanks to weak dialogue and soporific direction. Have I mentioned yet that the script and the direction are pretty lame? They are. There's no drama, no tension, no great character moments, nothing. The whole premise of government suppression of the media is squandered on sophomoric "commercial breaks" and an undramatic storyline that defies rational analysis and awkwardly shambles to its ridiculous finish. Syd Field would not be pleased.How could the government suppress the truth of a virulent zombie epidemic when the reality of it would be apparent everywhere? Why would they give it more than a cursory try? In this day and age of cellphone cameras with wireless access, what could they possibly hope to accomplish for more than a day or so at best? Now, if they were covering something up, like their own culpability....but "Feeding the Masses" never explores such possibilities. Instead, it dwells on absurdity and poorly staged events to dig for laughs and/or significance, praying its audience won't notice the near total lack of production value beyond basic film-making equipment. Did anyone in this film get paid? I hope the actors did, if only for their time wasted on career blind alleys like this one; at least the techies got to rack up some legitimate work experience.Even zombie fans will find little to gain from "Feeding the Masses." The gore is remarkably tame for no-budgeters of its rank, and there are no distinctive set pieces or memorable effects. They're all eminently forgettable, in fact. KNB has nothing to fear.Even junk like the Aussie stillbirth "Undead" was miles ahead of "Feeding the Masses." Sorry, guys, back to the drawing boards, and take your deceptive marketing with you.

I have dedicated my life to seeing every horrible B-rated movie ever created. I agree that, though this is not the greatest movie, it is not the worst. Yes, the story could have used some work. Yes, the acting wasn't on par with Sean Connery or Brad Pitt. But I found some scenes to be humorous. As for this dreaded F-Bomb, I agree. Just because you can swear to make a scene better, doesn't mean you should every ten minutes. All in all the movie is a hit or miss film. My friend and myself found it a good movie. Other friends of mine found it to be just plain bad. So all I can say is don't take my word for it. Go out and rent it, give it a try. Thank you and good night.

Just to-day my wife and I watched three modern zombie movies in one day. I am about to discuss one of them now.FEEDING THE MASSES has "amatuer" written all over it but that is not synonymous with "bad"; don't forget THE DEAD NEXT DOOR turned out to be a decent film which surprised a lot of people. I thought I had seen the last of the "The Government can't be trusted" subgenre when the 70's ended but I guess questioning authority will always be with us.The plot? Oh yes, the plot! Something called "The Lazarus Virus" has gotten out of hand (yes, again!) and the recent dead are returning to life as . . . let's all say it together . . . flesh eating zombies! This time though the Government is trying to put a positive spin on the whole thing by taking over the news media and telling people everything is going to be "just fine" when actually things are going to Heck in a handbasket more each day. A TV station is forced to run such obvious bullbleep as a "public service" message telling you that if zombies attack just fall to the ground and play dead! Shady corporations are still out to make a quick buck by offering to track down, re-kill and respectfully re-bury walking dead loved ones. Self empowered militias of shotgun toting rednecks are cruising the streets blasting down zombies left and right and yet another group extols people to come out and join its "End of the World" party!Into the midst of all this stands a young reporter who fancies herself the next Diane Sawyer and sees the zombie attacks as her ticket to the Big Time, provided the world does not self destruct first. With her photographer (Billy Gaberina) close by she is determined to expose the official lies and alert people to the danger they are truly in. um . . . not that it isn't bloody obvious to begin with!Zombie makeups are, well, fair. Gore effects, while plentiful, are standard. The budget was so low they could not even afford blank cartridges for the guns. Actors just shake the guns like they are spewing bullets rapid fire while gunshot sounds are dubbed in.Then again, what FEEDING THE MASSES lacks in budget it makes up for in sincerity. The filmmakers have managed to put a new spin on an old subject. We kinda like this movie. Of course we also liked Umberto Lanzi's NIGHTMARE CITY and Vincent Dawn's HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD too.

"No-one remembers the guy who filmed the Hindenburg disaster, but we all remember the footage." Torch.OK so I totally love zombie films of all shapes and sizes but there is a reason why I like some way more than others. A lot of people rate Fulci's 'Zombie' AKA 'Zombi 2' AKA 'Zombie Flesheaters' AKA 'Return Of McCulloch's Receeding Hairline' very highly and I do like it a lot for the gore factor but my favourites are the ones that drive home the apocalyptic message through exploring the reaction of characters as the world around them is falling apart. The first ten outstanding minutes of Dawn '04, and the incredible credits sequence is a great example of what I'm talking about. My favourite bits of Romero's first two zombie flicks are the media bits, perplexed newscasters struggling to report on and rationalise the end of the world. It makes for fantastic drama. The Daddy of course is the original Dawn with the chaotic TV studio scenes and that's the perspective that 'Feeding The Masses' takes, that of the weary TV workers feebly attempting to document disaster in the face of personal danger, conflicting emotions and government interference.Our main protagonists are.. Torch, cameraman for a small TV station in Providence, Rhode Island, he wants to record the end of the world for posterity instead of filming features on the effects of the zombie plague on mom and pop businesses such as coffee shops; Sherry, aspiring TV journalist and hotty who wants to be a serious journalist and save the lives of viewers by reporting accurately the true extent of the zombie outbreak; James, video engineer who hasn't slept in days and is feeling a bit under the weather, more so since the Government took over the TV station; Roger, military escort to the TV crew, he REALLY wants to get in Sherry's pants.As society collapses around them James ends up in charge of the Station under the close eye of a government agent with pretension's to TV stardom, Roger and Sherry find they are not on the same wavelength and Torch leaves his weed at home. Meanwhile the army are shooting everything that moves, the virus is becoming more virulent by the day, and one of the gang is a pretty sick individual."When I lost my wife to cancer six months ago it was the worst moment of my life... until I saw her reanimated body being dragged down Main Street behind a motorcycle!" Customer testimonial for www.findadeadspouse.comAs soon as the film opens it is obvious that this is no 'Dawn Of The Dead', it looks and sounds exactly like the indie film it is but that just seems to add to its charm, its all very Troma in fact, but Troma on Digital Video and with a more sophisticated sense of humour. It's a good job too because it's the sense of humour and sharp script that elevate the film well above other, way more expensive efforts at the zombie genre. The faux advertisements that punctuate the action are hilarious and worthy of Ed Neumeier,and the film delights in taking stabs at the Fox News obsession with maps and alert levels and assuring us that the government is in control and has our best interests at heart.If you want to watch another zombie movie and can forgive low production values for the sake of good gags,entertaining characters and a smart take on the genre then you may just find that, like me, you've stumbled across eighty minutes of fried gold.