American indie comedy horror films often fall flat for me. I find American humour doesn't always translate over that well, and so my expectations were set low when I began watching the Sean Haitz (Mangrove Slasher 2) written and directed Cannibal Comedian. I was pleasantly surprised by this one however, not without its issues, but the protagonist/antagonist was wonderfully cast.
Charlie (Aaron Prager - Thumper's Revenge) is a psychopathic cannibal who is obsessed with getting new victims to turn into food. The man also sees himself as a bit of a comedian, always trying out his cannibal related puns on his victims, either as he kills them, or by forcing his captees to watch his stand-up show. When he discovers his latest victim; Chrystal (Austin Judd - Big Top Evil), is a singer, he asks her for advice on how to perform on stage, and with her advice he gets the confidence to go to a local comedy club to try out his material. Naming himself the 'Cannibal Comedian', his act is a hit, with the audience thinking the body parts he brings with him and the outfit he wears is all part of his act rather than being real items. He soon catches the attention of the comedy club owner; Carrey (Robert Dunne), whose jealousy of the new comic sees him first restricting him from performing and then stealing his act for his own.
This may be a comedy horror but it doesn't shy away from the horror side of things. Characters here are funny, but this takes place in a vaguely realistic setting, with the world mostly operating normally, but populated with some larger than life characters. Prager was a fantastic choice for the narcissistic and arrogant lead. The man not only slightly resembles iconic actor Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead), but his voice is also nearly identical to my ears. This made his lines a joy to listen to, which is good as the man never shuts up. A lot of the comedy comes from his cannibal based stand-up routine, featuring plenty of groan inducing 'dad' jokes. If not for his penchant for killing and eating innocent people I would have really liked this character. He was a villain, but a likeable one whose supreme over confidence in his abilities made him a bit endearing. I liked how the film was shown from his perspective, such as canned laughter playing out when he makes jokes, and showing him having deep conversations with his reflection in the mirror. There was a bit of a disconnect with his comedy club plotline abrasively contrasted against his home life where it is hard to ignore the fact he has a scantily clad beaten woman chained up.
This had a vibe of The Devil's Rejects to it, following obviously evil characters but made to feel for them. Charlie has a 'family' type of situation going on also, with his striking stick thin drag queen neighbour Eleanor (Miss Sadistic) as well as Sheriff Weaver (David Vega) both helping the cannibal get away with his crimes.
Being a film about a cannibal you might expect lots of blood and gore, being a comedy also I wasn't sure how much of this to expect. This movie does not shy away from showing lots of gruesome things, lots and lots of blood and guts, and some brutal looking kills, such as lovely looking effects of axes embedded in heads! This makes for some gross moments where people are being eaten, so I wouldn't recommend watching this while you are eating! I did enjoy how oblivious people are to Charlie being a real cannibal, always coated in blood and carrying around body parts, but with no one realising this is all authentic stuff. The storyline was simple, but it was enjoyable to follow with some satisfying moments, such as how he deals with an obnoxious heckler. Going back to Chrystal, I wasn't that keen on how she was treated, especially when she is set up to be Charlie's antagonist and an attempt to turn the viewer against her due to later actions.
Cannibal Comedian was far better than it had any right to be. I liked that the comedy wasn't the sole focus here, and instead there was a good balance between the two elements. I thought the characters for the most part were interesting, especially the wonderfully cast Prager, and I liked the surreal plot. The only part letting it down for me came from personal preference, as I find cannibals a bit of a gross topic. Cannibal Comedian can be viewed exclusively on SCREAMBOX, having came to the streaming service on March 4th.
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