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URBAN FLESH
Directed and Edited by Alexandre Michaud
Written and Produced by Jef Grenier and Alexandre MichaudKane- Martin Dubreuil
Sally - Marie-Eve Petite
Inspector Vincent Blake - Klaude "Max" Lavigne
Samantha - Mireille Levesque(Ed. note - The version of the film I saw was a preliminary cut. It was not the final version and will not be graded as such.)
I find it humorous that I saw URBAN FLESH so soon after reviewing EL CORAZONE DE LA MEMORIA. EI CORAZONE was a film about oppression from corrupt governments and finding the courage to move on. URBAN FLESH was made in Canada and banned by that country's government. From the country that gave us that wonderful, bloodbath of a game called Hockey, they say this film is too violent. Go figure…
The story has to do with a group of fine, young cannibals trying to survive in Quebec. It's hard enough trying to find lunch that won't put up a fight, but now they've got to deal with the local fuzz breathing down their necks.
If it sounds as if I'm making light of the plot, it's because the plot is light. Cannibals go out, they eat, and they make a mess. Along the way are scenes thrown in about a local police officer trying to track down the killers.
Since the version of the film I saw was an early edit, it's unfair to criticize the pacing. On the other hand, the current structure is fair game. The climax relies on coincidence and falls into place far too neatly. As one would expect, it involves a showdown with the cop and the cannibals. This is all well and fine, but if the plot had motivated the confrontation, it wouldn't have felt like such a let down.
The movie itself is very raw in its execution. Most of the footage is shot hand-held adding realism and making the kill scenes especially uncomfortable. The purpose with URBAN FLESH isn't to scare, but to shock and disturb. The kill scenes last much longer than they need to if the film was simply going for the gross-out. These extended sequences lend the film a power that shouldn't be there. By the time this was done, I didn't want to see another horror film for weeks.
URBAN FLESH borrows heavily from two great genre films, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. Sure, those two are gritty, uncompromising horror films that pushed the direction of the genre for years to come, but they are also films about families. The lesson learned is that families are found where you make them.
The youths in URBAN FLESH take on similar family dynamics similar to Leatherface and Hitchhiker or Henry and Otis. Like the characters in those films, the youths in URBAN FLESH band together out of necessity and survival. The point isn't that you have killers with a taste for blood, but you have kids who have alienated themselves from the outside world. They react to the world in the only way they know how, through violence. If the film were not made so long ago, I would have assumed it was a reaction to the Columbine incident.
When URBAN FLESH is finished, I hope it doesn't loose any of its edge. As it stands, it is a pretty intense viewing experience. Check it out.