EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Produced and Written by Joshua Nelson
Directed and Edited by James Tucker
Director of Photography - Brian Fass

Pandora - Melissa Bacelar
Jeffery - Jack Dillon
The Stalker - Joshua Nelson
Laura - Jeanette Bonner
Mama - Alan Rowe Kelly

As the opening scene of a wandering spouse meeting his demise played out, I found myself wondering which is worse, flesh-eating zombies or flesh-eating cannibals. Zombies are like buzzards and rats in that they are only following an instinctual need but a cannibal makes a conscious decision to chow down on butt cheek tar-tar. There's something so twisted in that cannibal brain that they find physical pleasure, and sometimes sexual arousal, in sinking their teeth into you or me.

Getting my vote for best title of the year, James Tucker's EAT YOUR HEART OUT explores the relationship between sex and cannibalism, which isn't as far-fetched as one might think. They both deal with consumption, need, and desire. In the case of Jeffery and Pandora, two lonely and isolated people, the concepts become two sides of the same coin.

Jeffery has two things going against him - he's unlucky in both love and life. Living his days bound to his cubical as an insurance salesman, Jeffery has grown so insecure in his life that the slightest sight of skinning sends him stammering. But Jeffery has a big heart filled with love to give. Shot down by every woman in his office, Jeffery is forced to spend his nights with a never-ending parade of escorts. He's so desperate for intimacy that he's forced to pay for sex, but he's never more pathetic then when he flounders while asking a hooker out to dinner after fornication.

Pandora is a hooker who uses her profession as a unique meal ticket. Having a profound hatred for most men, hooking is an easy way unleash her glutinous form of punishment upon those exuding the worst typical male traits, such as the previously mentioned infidelity of the opening scene's would-be groom. In her line of work all she sees are the dregs of society who probably deserve a good killing, not to mention a good nibbling.

While on a trick with Jeffrey, Pandora experiences something she's never felt before - tenderness. It's probably why she doesn't rip out his guts. Jeffery, in turn, receives something he's never gotten before, someone willing to have dinner with him. In each other they've found acceptance. Jeffery realizes that he's little more then a momma's boy with some dead momma issues. His cavalcade of call girls is a pitiful attempt to find a momma substitute. Who could love a man with a Jewish-style Oedipal complex? Pandora, knowing full well that eating people isn't natural, displays self-loathing by going so far as to refere to herself as "an abomination of God." Who could love a cannibal?

Once the pair connect, EAT YOUR HEART OUT shifts in tone from a dead-serious freakshow to a ultra-sly black comedy played completely deadpan. Jeffrey effectively becomes a parody of other cinematic lovelorn losers and spouts cliches at Pandora about how she's the only important thing in his life. It's as if this man has had zero intimate contact through his entire life. Pandora becomes the demonic siren whose sexual call leads Jeffrey down her path of murder and chaos. Much to his surprise, he doesn't mind the killing so much as long as it keeps a smile on his girl's face.

Given the material, it would have been easy to play up the humor for chuckles and laughs. Instead, the blunt directness of Tucker's directorial style and Joshua Nelson's script results in something far more disturbing then the usual tale of psychos in love. Not knowing whether to cringe or laugh becomes unnerving but I found myself captivated by the movie's dark spell with the same morbid fixation that a passerby displays when they happen upon a car crash - they find themselves searching, if not hoping, for a glimpse of the worst.

Nelson displayed a wealth of talent as an actor in Marc Fratto's brilliant zombie epic LAST RITES OF THE DEAD, and with EAT YOUR HEART OUT he displays as much talent behind the camera. Like Jon Faverau, he realizes that as an actor if you want great parts you have to go out and write them. With EYHO, Nelson has written himself the role of villain, but how does one play the foil when your lead is a crazed killer? As detached as Jeffrey and Pandora are, they both posses endearing qualities making them loveable losers who are still, ultimately, human. With his role of The Stalker, Nelson has removed the humanity from this man whose retarded brother was killer by Pandora and replaced it with single-minded vengeance and brutality. Where Jeffrey and Pandora display tenderness towards one another, The Stalker is all business - lead pipes and knee caps. You understand his vengeance, it's perfectly justified, but in the end viewers just want Jeffrey and Pandora to find happiness.

It's a rare movie that brings out the darkside of the audience, and EAT YOUR HEART OUT does exactly that. Compared to other recent low-budget horror films, EYHO stands as an example that story and craftsmanship need to come before effects and gore. A worthwhile film is one that stands on its own and not just for its moments of shock (of which EYHO displays more then a few).

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