Horror rom-com Cannibal Mukbang wears its heart on a dinner plate.
Cannibal Mukbang is a title that evokes a certain vision of something gnarly, exploitation-inspired, and possibly quite damn bloody. Aimee Kuge’s debut feature has some of those elements, but it surprisingly goes for the heart in a romantic sense as much as it does literally.
The dark, doomed romance. The most poetic, melodramatic way to capture the realities of relationships on film. It’s got roots in the stage and has morphed into so many different creatures over the decades, but there’s something special about the ones that don’t hide the dark half of love. You can’t really taste the sweet without the sour, right?
The romance at the center of Cannibal Mukbang features, unsurprisingly, cannibalism and mukbanging. For the uninitiated, mukbanging is basically making a show of eating food on video, which naturally has its enthusiasts that make it a lucrative sub-culture.
One of the most interesting aspects of Cannibal Mukbang is how it examines how love and relationships clash with personal interests. Horror fans can already relate to others deriding and dismissing their love of the genre, but know all too well how exciting it is to find someone else who enjoys it just the same. Humorously, Kuge’s film shows that even common interests have levels to them.
Sadsack Mark (Nate Wise) lives in the shadow of his successful ”asshole with a heart” brother and is afraid of finding love. But love hits him, literally, when Ash (April Consalo) accidentally hits him with her car.
There’s a connection, and Ash’s offbeat charm warms Mark’s heart as he discovers more about her. When Mark discovers Ash is a mukbanger, it’s not played for the weird and awkward thing a cynical mind would expect. Instead, this is where Mark’s interest in watching mukbangs and Ash’s passion for making them create a stronger connection between the two, and they open up to each other about their past traumas in lengthy conversations.
So Mark is drawn deeper into Ash’s world, slowly ignoring his caring but egotistical brother’s calls. But then an odd date leaves Mark feeling wounded and left to drown his sorrows by getting blind drunk in a park, which is where he sees the other side of Ash’s passion project.
And then things get dark as Mark is reluctantly drawn into a violent and bloody new world he cannot resist. The dynamic between the pair gains new layers, showing manipulation born of loneliness and desperation can be as deadly as intentional harm.
It’s such a mesmerizing relationship, and kudos to Consalo and Wise for being flitting between endearing, pathetic, and dangerous without breaking a sweat. A romance onscreen only invests the viewer if the people involved can make it believable, and relatable, even with absurd caveats, and they do an excellent job here.
Without excusing behaviors, Aimee Kuge gives us an understandable reasoning for them. Ash’s twinkly-eyed charm is in earnest for Mark, but it’s tough for her to distance it from the version of it she uses to lure scummy men into deadly situations. And for Mark, insecurity about his worth still makes him feel like he’s not good enough for Ash, despite her immoral behavior. There’s more than a touch of a vampiric dynamic to their relationship, with Mark a thrall to Ash’s seductive, enchanting ghoul.
There comes a part where an inevitable clash is on the horizon, and you can’t help but wish it didn’t have to be. As messed up as the relationship is, there’s genuine love in there, and as is often true in life, destructive tendencies can cause rifts in even the best of matches. It makes for an ending that feels unsatisfying and a little frustrating, but I respect why it plays out the way it does.
Cannibal Mukbang is a violent, bloody romantic comedy that has an underlying sweetness to it. April Consalo and Nate Wise make for a delightfully offbeat couple who are easy to root for in a chaotic, gory setting. Aimee Kuge has cooked up a treat worth watching.
Score: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to ”Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.
Cannibal Mukbang screened as part of Panic Fest 2024.
