but with ambiguous creatures instead of a witch; and a side of pro-veganism. That pretty much sums up 2006' "Feeding Grounds," a micro-budget horror flick about eight bickering youths in Southern California who get stuck in the desert and encounter the unknown.To get anything good from "Feeding Grounds" you have to be able to acclimate to its low-budget style and limitations. I did and was able to find some rewarding elements, but it's mainly a tedious and one-dimensional barely-a-budget horror flick. Despite the lack of funds, there's some evidence that the filmmakers have talent. Parts of the movie have an eerie, arty ambiance in a good way. So the filmmaking is noticeably better than the do-it-yourself amateur (non)tone of the similar "Delirium," which came out just after "Feeding Grounds." There are a couple of things that make the movie worth investing in, like the voluptuous redhead in the opening act, Rachel (Rebecca Gannon). Unfortunately, it's just a glorified cameo and you have to endure an eye-rolling lesbian romance sequence to appreciate her. Secondly, and more importantly, there's a notable rock/metal song that plays during the end credits. While the credits list the five or six songs that appear on the soundtrack I was unable to pinpoint which is the one that plays during the final credits. It's obviously a no-name band, but it's outstanding; very creative.The eight youths that make up the cast are diverse and believable in their roles, not spoiled college kids, Just ordinary people, but they're only so-so interesting; and mostly not. If the script was tweaked they might be more compelling. Plus there are no real babes aside from the aforementioned Rachel from the brief prologue. Still, I appreciated the distinctions between the characters and their overall realistic portrayal.As for the attackers or creatures, it becomes clear that they have a way of initially infecting the victims via some kind of bite or sting (or whatever) which makes them sick, semi-drugged ripe prey. Now and then you'll hear a radio broadcast that provides info on what may be happening – unknown disappearances in the desert and the theorizing thereof, which is reminiscent of the occasional TV broadcasts in 1968's renowned "Night of the Living Dead." A few plot holes: Why do the creatures allow the police to come & go without attacking them? Why does one driver refer to the lack of "exits" on the highway when it's a two-lane road, not an interstate? Speaking of the road, why is it paved with people occasionally driving by and then mysteriously morphs into a dirt road and (I think) back again? The film runs 82 minutes and was shot in Southern California.GRADE: Borderline C- or D+ (3.5 out of 10)

...but director Junior Bonner just didn't manage to fully utilize the full potential and turn "Feeding Grounds" into a properly entertaining movie. The movie dragged on at an excruciatingly slow pace and very little happened to liven up the movie or bring it into a proper pace.The whole unknown supernatural thing that was going on in the desert and changing people was interesting, but it was savagely cut down by bad direction and with a myriad of one-dimensional characters that you never rooted for or formed any kind of bond with.I am sure that the actors and actresses were giving it their best performance, but they were badly hindered by a lack of detailed character gallery and everyone were essentially just playing one and the same character.There weren't all that many special effects throughout the movie, but what was there was alright and served their purpose well enough.However, for a horror movie then "Feeding Grounds" just didn't stand out or leave a lasting impression in the genre. If you enjoy horror movies, then there are far better movies available worthy of your time and money.

this showed up in one of those bargain bin 'horror packs'as my tag line implies, some truths are unavoidable and speak for themselves. it took me literally 4 tries to make it through this thing; and it's only barely over 1:15 in length. that speaks for itself. i would just get bored and doze off. try again the next night. same thingthere was a version of the 'Elephant Man' i saw once as a kid where the guy playing Elephant Man wore absolutely no makeup. he just looked like a normal guy. with no context as to what the real Elephant Man looked like, that version made utterly no sensesame problem here. i get a 'horror' movie trying to let your imagination run wild and picture the creatures, but in this; we don't get anything to go on. some tufts of fur and few bits of goo on the ground and our mind is supposed to supply the terror.second issue is there are too many characters. too hard to keep track of who's who here. are we supposed to like this guy or that girl. no time to develop back stories. so then, when they start arguing amongst themselves (the creatures affected their minds, i guess?) my reaction was 'stop it! that's so annoying.. and btw, who cares?"ultimately a jab at meat-eaters where the lone survivor is also the lone vegan. direct quote: "why aren't you sick?".. "because they know i won't eat them"plot hole: why do the cops come and go and not get lost or eaten?second plot question: what's the point of the opening sequence with the two lesbian girls?comes off like a film school project with zero budget for effects. post edit adds a bunch of creature sounds, but this thing barely held my interest. might have been made a better short?

A motley group of young people head for a remote desert cabin where they plan to kick back for a couple of days, which means drinking even more, and using even more drugs, than they're consuming before they get to the cabin; and where the guys plan to put the move on the girls, except, of course, for the clearly defined sharp-tongued Plain Jane. Naturally, something hungry is lurking out there in the desert; something that makes an awful lot of noise chewing and swallowing.The average episode of SpongeBob Squarepants has better writing and acting, and more depth and complexity, than this dreck. It's as if the cast, director and crew who are making this movie are out there only as an excuse to do for real BEHIND the camera what the actors are pretending to be doing in FRONT of the camera: namely, cursing, drinking cheap booze, and taking a variety of drugs, while the guys haplessly strut about putting the moves on the girls, who act suitably coy, until they get tired of acting coy, and so of course suffer the usual fate of pretty young women in movies like this, which is to be devoured a minute or two after foreplay has started. (Actually, calling them "actors" is being generous.) The filmmakers did themselves and their film no favors by naming their production company Brain Damage Films.Actually, now that I come to think about it, this dismal dog of a flick has improved my life, because watching it, I had to confront the question of whether I really, truly, absolutely, positively have nothing better to do with my time than to watch drivel like this.