Review: Cannibal Mukbang

8 April, 2025 Nick Ripley 0 Comments 1 category

Title: Cannibal Mukbang
MPA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Director: Aimee Kuge
Starring: April Consalo, Nate Wise
Runtime: 1hr 44min

What It Is: Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. But the girl turns out to be a cannibal who live-streams herself eating rapists. An unconventional horror film that explores toxic relationships, misogyny, and love.

What We Think: Oh boy, where do I even begin with this one? I have a lot of thoughts, so bear with me.

Overall, I liked this film.

There were things I loved and things I’m still processing. But first, credit where it’s due—this film is fun. There’s a great element of camp, the gore effects are impressive given the budget, and the story is truly unique. Honestly, I didn’t even know what a mukbang was before watching this. The cinematography is picturesque, and the music is chef’s kiss.

This film felt like a callback to ’70s grindhouse exploitation films, and it shows—in everything from the aesthetic to the storyline to the gore concepts. In many ways, it almost feels like a love letter to the genre. The story is delightfully mean-spirited, and overall, it does a great job of delivering exactly what it promises. I love the idea of the stereotypical manic pixie dream girl turning out to be a killer, and the dynamic between the two main characters is fantastic.

That said, my main issue lies with the dialogue. I’m not sure if it was an intentional nod to the exploitation genre, but some of it felt a little ham-fisted and too on the nose—like the characters were outright shouting the film’s themes at me. It was anything but subtle, though to be fair, exploitation films are notoriously unsubtle. Personally, I would have appreciated a bit more nuance in that regard. When handling a theme, it’s often more effective to be a little sneaky about it; otherwise, it can come across as preachy.

The story also felt about ten to twenty minutes longer than necessary. A scene or two could have been trimmed to make for a tighter, more cohesive experience.

Nevertheless, I appreciate the film’s message and absolutely loved the ending, which I think wrapped things up in the best possible way given the scenario. It was a refreshing conclusion to a truly original concept.

Our Grade: B, A fun, modern exploitation film that doesn’t hold back in the slightest. With a fresh, original concept and a promising directorial debut from Aimee Kuge, this film makes a bold statement.

Available on Digital and On Demand on March 25^THOn Blu-Ray on April 22^nd