Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Flesh Eating Mothers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 29, 2020

1988’s “Flesh-Eating Mothers” isn’t a scary movie, even though it deals with a somewhat serious topic of infidelity and the plague of sexually transmitted diseases. Co-writer/director James Aviles isn’t comfortable treating such issues with any sort of dramatic concentration, instead trying to make a genre ride with the endeavor, which is always hunting for laughs to best support the rather gruesome plot. “Flesh-Eating Mothers” has a great title, as eye-catching as can be, and Aviles has a vision for ridiculousness for the feature, which is most fun when it has something to do, dealing with cannibalistic moms and the kids they devour. It’s only a shame there isn’t more effort from Aviles to fill the film with incident, as it takes one too many breathers during the run time, more concerned about making it to 90 minutes than providing a propulsive sense of twisted entertainment.

In suburban New York, Roddy (Louis Homyak) has been a naughty boy, shopping his sexual frustration around the neighborhood, cheating on his wife with a great number of women on the block. Unfortunately, Roddy is infected with a mysterious and dangerous STD, and one that causes mothers to transform into cannibalistic monsters, ready to feast on children, preferably their own. When the teenage offspring of the damned begin to understand what’s happening, they try to escape harm, finding little help from Commissioner Dixon (Ken Eaton), a one-armed cop in possession of secrets. Across town, scientists Dr. Lee (Michael Fuer) and Booty (Grace Pettijohn) race to figure out the viral issue, coming into contact with a deadly menace that’s spreading fast.

While many features have explored the troubles of suburban living, “Flesh-Eating Mothers” is the rare endeavor to explore relationship ruin and domestic disturbance issues and turn them into a zombie movie. Roddy’s the big problem on the block, showing no interest in fixing the staleness of his marriage, taking his attention elsewhere, hitting up all the women in the neighborhood for casual sex. Roddy’s not a condom man, allowing his tainted seed to spread to multiple victims, with the STD craving a home inside moms, turning seemingly sweet women into bloodthirsty ghouls, gradually contorting their faces into Smilex-style angles as well. Martin and co-writer Zev Shlasinger probably didn’t have a commentary on the AIDS crisis in mind when they banged out the script, but there’s something chilling about the premise, which also extends to the saga of Jeffrey (Robert Lee Oliver), a teenager struggling with his abusive dad, a monster who constantly assaults his mother, leaving her susceptible to Roddy’s lizard-like charms.

“Flesh-Eating Mothers” doesn’t have the ambition to become something sinister. It’s a Troma-style event made with very little money, finding Martin fighting to find things to do with the tale once primary scenes of violence are over. The story isn’t much, jumping between the local teens and their quest for survival and the scientific effort to decode the STD (which is rendered with cartoony animation), hoping to stop the outbreak before the cops and the kids kill everyone. Gore is plentiful in the movie, and while there’s not a lot of coin spent on the details, the effects are capable for this type of film, and Martin is rather pitiless when it comes to victims, as children and cats are torn apart. Mercifully, the tone of “Flesh-Eating Mothers” is so silly, such distasteful scenes of murder aren’t suffocating, with the general campiness of the feature helping Martin achieve a sense of merriment with dire encounters, while the score by Hayley Moss (armed with a synthesizer and a drum machine) is downright jaunty.

Flesh Eating Mothers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Billed as "Newly scanned and restored in 2K from 16mm archival elements," "Flesh-Eating Mothers" is brought to Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome, who manage to do something impressive with the grungy look of the feature. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation reaches about as far as it can with the materials, securing an agreeable sense of detail with softer cinematography, capturing makeup achievements and interior decoration, preserving the suburban mood. Exteriors also do well, delivering an adequate sense of dimension. Colors are appealing, working with period primaries on costuming, which is filled with blues and yellows, and pink is a common sight as well. Monster looks showcase drained appearances, identifying differences between the infected and their victims, who carry natural skintones. Greenery is terrific. Delineation is challenged but always communicative, heading into some difficult evening shots with little to no lighting. Source is in decent shape (camera issues are found around the 73:00 mark), with most roughness found during the main titles. Speckling and mild scratches remain.

Flesh Eating Mothers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix does what it can with certain technical limitations, keeping dialogue exchanges the top priority, allowing performances to register as intended. Conversations are balanced, and monstrous escalations are acceptable, never slipping into distortive extremes. Scoring is present, showcasing its tinny instrumentation acceptably. Sound effects are also adequate, hitting horror highlights as flesh is chewed and attacks commence. Some light damage is detected along the way.

Flesh Eating Mothers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Intro (1:02, HD) finds co-writer/director James Aviles Martin welcoming viewers to the "Flesh-Eating Mothers" viewing experience, sharing information about the 1986 shoot, with the picture put together by a team of film school students on a $10,000 budget.

• Commentary features Martin.

• "Blood and Laughs" (14:54, HD) returns to Martin, who decided to find his way into the local film business via 1984's "Splatter University," where he learned a few things about the crazy world of low-budget moviemaking. His education continued with "I Was a Teenage Zombie," providing the screenplay for the 1987 endeavor before making his way to Brooklyn College, getting caught up in the film department. Setting out to make his own picture, Martin aimed for a special balance of horror and humor with "Flesh-Eating Mothers," finding inspiration from news reports on viral outbreaks. Dealing with a tight schedule, Martin details his use of storyboards to keep him on track, and he explains his decision to make a feature about sex while staying away from sex, showing visible discomfort with the addition of nudity. Clearly not delighted with the process of making no-budget chillers, Martin has moved on to art world interests.

• "Hungry to Make Movies" (14:38, HD) is a conversation with producer Peter Ilich, who also got his start with "Splatter University," finding success with low-budget production interests. Casting achievements are shared, along with choices in locations, working with small towns that didn't mind hosting shoots. Ilich discusses his relationship with Martin and the makeup work completed for the feature. The surprising European success of "Flesh-Eating Mothers" is recalled, along with the struggle of financing the picture, forcing Ilich to use some of his own money. The interviewee closes with a fascinating tale of video distribution, dealing with a sketchy company to put "Flesh-Eating Mothers" out on VHS, only to find rampant fraud with the entire deal, forced to turn to legal action to collect promised cash.

• A Trailer has not been included.

Flesh Eating Mothers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Flesh-Eating Mothers" isn't consistent, lacking a brake-line-slashing sense of craziness to turn it into something special. However, the B-movie works in fits, showing capability with chaotic outbreaks and wacky characters, working very hard to come off as a light but bloody distraction. It's amusing, even though it doesn't reach its full potential.