What can one say about a film called Flesh-Eating Mothers? It is about as good as one might expect, and yet, there are moments where it somewhat surprises and turns out to be not as terrible as the title implies. It will never be anyone’s favourite movie, but for a little while, it will at least occupy one’s time.

The story is simple enough – women in town, who also happen to be mothers, start to eat the flesh of their loved ones. They do so because they have caught some sort of sexually transmitted disease, though how everyone got said disease is never really explained. The problem with said story is that it is never really fleshed out enough. The makers of this film took the basic idea they had and just ran with it, seemingly, without thinking it all the way through. Thankfully, there is a hint of entertainment to be found in all of this that keeps the audience watching. Will these mothers be cured? Will their kids revolt and kill them all, or will the mothers kill them? Will those who are killed or eaten turn into zombie cannibals as well, or does this mysterious disease only affect the prime host? So many questions, none of them really answered.

Given that this movie was made on a shoestring budget, there was no hope that the talent found to bring it all to life would be the greatest ever seen on the big screen, and for the most part, that cast would not be very impressive. That being said, there have been worse movies than this if one can believe it. There have also been movies far worse with casts that would make this one look Oscar-worthy. The film might have had a slight chance if the story and the script were of far better quality than they were. The dialogue was not fantastic, and the special effects, which, to be fair, were bad, might have been the best thing about it all. The ideas that powered it all, though, were in the right place. There was horror to be found, and the thought of someone’s mom eating their own children is quite horrifying. There was a lot of promise to be had, much like in any cinematic venture; it is a shame that it never really delivered on it.

In all, Flesh-Eating Mothers is not what one would have hoped to see once tuning in. On the other hand, it also turned out to be exactly what some might have expected it to be. This is one of those movies that people will either love or hate, with little middle ground. It is awful, campy, and cheesy to the extreme. It is both good and bad, yet more than that, it will at least keep one somewhat entertained trying to figure out just how much of the former or latter it really is.

1 out of 5