My quick rating - 4.8/10. The Flesh People reminds me of a dare that was issued to some sleepy film school kids who were asked to come up with a nasty cannibal comedy. This was their result. A grotesque nightmare flick, filled with drug-induced visions and dark humor. The film makes no effort to hide how messed up it is.
The movie follows two roommates trying to survive the meat grinder that is New York City. Ricky, played by Jorge Carrión Álvarez, starts off as this timid, awkward guy before rapidly transforming into a complete lunatic once the pills and desperation kick in. Sharing the chaos is Geraldine, played by Louise Heller, an aging theater actress who huffs paint like it is a personality trait. The second she appeared onscreen, I knew this movie was going to fully commit to insanity.
And commit it does.
The humor in The Flesh People comes from conversations that no functioning humans would ever have. These two casually discussing black-market kidney removal surgeries on their kitchen floor like they are planning Taco Tuesday is exactly the kind of absurd energy this movie thrives on. Their brilliant entrepreneurial idea? “Discounted surgery and dentistry.” Because apparently New York’s healthcare system was not terrifying enough already.
The operation scenes that follow are some of the funniest moments in the movie simply because of how casually horrifying they are. Every successful surgery just means more drug money, which naturally leads to worse decisions. Soon starvation kicks in, Ricky starts eyeing his roommate like a late-night snack, and before long somebody is literally cooking their own pinky finger. Viola. Cannibalism. And apparently human meat tastes fantastic.
The script throws out lines so ridiculous you cannot help but laugh. “If they’re old enough to drink, they are old enough to be eaten” sounds like something written during a 3 AM caffeine overdose, yet somehow it lands perfectly within this movie’s sleazy tone.
Director Keshav Srinivasan clearly understands practical gore effects are half the fun here. There are some genuinely entertaining bloody moments mixed with weird hallucination sequences that give the whole movie a grimy underground feel. Physics, however, does not exist in this universe. At one point a cleaver to the top of someone’s head basically results in instant decapitation, which makes absolutely no sense, but honestly, this movie crossed the realism line about fifteen human body parts ago.
Where The Flesh People struggles is pacing. What starts as a hilariously deranged concept eventually drags on much longer than it should. The central joke works best in short bursts, and the film occasionally feels like it is repeating itself while trying to stretch its feature-length runtime from material that might have worked even better as a tighter midnight movie.
Still, for horror junkies who appreciate a movie that’s cheap, sleazy, gory, practical, and so dark it may very well be criminal, The Flesh People delivers plenty of nasty fun. It is strange, dirty, bloody, and absolutely bonkers in its own unique, indie way. The movie is currently floating around the festival circuit, and it feels destined to become one of those “you HAVE to see this insane thing” recommendations among horror crowds once streaming links finally appear. You can check this out from June 29th to July 26th at the New York Lift-Off Film Festival.
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