Horror Movie Review: Cannibal Mukbang (2023)

A film with a surprising amount of heart, Cannibal Mukbang comes from writer and director Aimee Kuge. It stars April Consalo, Nate Wise, Clay von Carlowitz, and Madeleine Ours.

Have you ever seen a mukbang? Do you even know what a mukbang is? Allow me to explain. A mukbang is basically a live-stream video of somebody eating a ton of food. The name comes from the combination of the Korean words for eating and broadcast and it is very popular on the internet.

Mark (Nate Wise) is a shy, unassuming man, who falls head over heels for Ash (April Consalo), literally, as she accidentally hits him with her car. He’s not hurt, but the confident and outgoing Ash wants to make it up to him regardless. This is how the pair get to know each other, finding out that they have chemistry and their attraction to each other is hard to ignore.

What’s a guy and a girl to do? It’s love and it should be so simple, except Ash is a mukbanger and not a conventional one at that. It’s hardly spoilers, seeing as it’s in the title, but Ash is a cannibal and her victims are men who prey on women. A revelation that Mark, rightfully, struggles to understand or accept, at first. What would you do if the woman of your dreams turned out to like the taste of human flesh?

One of the more surprising things about Cannibal Mukbang is the fact that it’s not really a horror film. Don’t get me wrong, it has violence, gore, tension, and dark moments, but for the most part, it’s a love story and an endearing one at that. The characters of Mark and Ash are really watchable and both actors nail their parts, even when they have to deal with some of the more toxic elements of their relationship.

Interestingly, these are the aspects that also ground the film in reality. For all the madness, they are both human. Happily, while it is good to see the film take a ‘grownup’ approach to relationships, it’s also good that film doesn’t take itself too seriously. I wouldn’t call it funny, per-se, but there’s some notable black humour injected into things.

With elements of 70s exploitation, nods to the wildness of the 80s, and plenty of modern elements, Cannibal Mukbang is a mishmash of ideas delivered by a writer and director with talent. Aimee Kuge focuses on the right things to make the film engaging and nails it, for the most part. It looks and sounds good, and wraps up in fun and satisfying fashion.