In the world of independent horror it's pretty rare when a group of filmmakers are able to make something more significant than your usual riff on vampires, gore, or zombies - it does happen from time to time (such as Eric Stanze's Ice From The Sun), but most of the time fans of these (now) digitally shot efforts aren't given much to work with.

That's why a movie like Feeding The Masses is fairly refreshing. Directed by Richard Griffin and written by Trent Haaga (writer of Citizen Toxie and lead actor in Suburban Nightmare) this takes its inspiration from Romero's zombie flicks, and to a lesser extent 28 Days Later..., but it manages to come up with its own identity. And while it does stumble a little in the last third it's still an intriguing effort that should be checked out by anyone looking for something other than another retread horror flick.

We know Feeding The Masses isn't just your typical horror flick even from the opening shot. We're drawn into what seems like your standard television cooking show only for it to be interrupted by cameraman Torch (Billy Garberina) who is arguing with one of his superiors about how the station seems to be glossing over the real news going on in the city around them.

Seems that a deadly virus, dubbed the "Lazarus Virus", has been unleashed on the good folks of Rhode Island and it has effectively turned a good portion of the population into flesh-hungry zombies leading the government to not only close down portions of the city, but also to outright lie to the public with the help of the local media.

Eventually Torch, reporter Shelly (Rachel Morris), and a small group of people are sent out to cover an address from the governor and end-up being caught in the middle of the crossfire as they're assaulted by the infected as the military guns them down. It's then that they decide they need to uncover the truth and broadcast it to the general public no matter what stands in their way.

With their evident love of horror, Griffin and Haaga deliver a movie that packs in enough black humour, satire, and a few "jump" moments to be a watchable time. Like I said, the last third is a little weak and the message they're trying to deliver gets a little bit misguided (we still get their point however), but it's forgivable as the movie is peppered with some amusing vignettes like the funeral home ad and the awesome educational film spoof, a "peepshow" scene that manages to be a bit unnerving (although it turns out to ultimately be pointless), and enough smarts to work fairly well.

It's not completely perfect, there's not really much in the way of gore, and the acting while generally okay is pretty so-so but it's always good to see an indie film striving for more than just being standard fare and for that Feeding The Masses comes recommended. And it even manages to finish on an effective down note. (Chris Hartley, 8/15/05)

Directed By: Richard Griffin.
Written By: Trent Haaga.

Starring: Billy Garberina, Rachel Morris, Patrick Cohen, Michael Propster.

Picture Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: Seemingly shot with digital cameras the transfer here looks quite decent with solid colours, good clarity, and none of the fuzziness that plagues most indie horror DVDs.

Extras: Shock-O-Rama delivers a pleasing enough batch of extras here with a pretty fun "behind-the-scenes" featurette that runs 30 minutes, two shorts by Duana Graves and Justin Meeks (Voltagen and The Hypostatic Union) that include commentary, a trailer plus trailers for seven other titles, a "Shock-O-Rama: A Year Of Shock" retrospective (thanks for the mention, guys!), and a listenable commentary by director Griffin and star Garberina.