Part muse. Part sleepwalking cannibal.
Rating: 6/10
Running Time: 90 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 18
Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal – memorable title, fairly forgettable film. That’s not to say that this Canadian-Danish effort is a bad one as it’s a nice mix of humour, horror and passable drama and the ninety-minute runtime flies by. It’s just that, like with the rest of the conveyor belt of shockingly titled horrors, this one will probably not stay long in the consciousness of anyone who watches it.
The story follows Lars (Lindhardt), a once-successful painter who can no longer paint. For reasons unknown he goes to work in a remote art school in Canada where he finds a frosty reception from the staff but when he is asked to look after Eddie (Smith), an emotionally damaged mute, things begin to look up for his work. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that Eddie is a sleepwalking cannibal but amazingly the horror of his actions unlocks Lars’ creativity.
There are lots of subtle little comedy moments throughout Boris Rodriguez’s movie. There’s the little crazy expressions and ridiculous plans from Lars whenever he decides that another murder is what he needs (the acting is not actually that bad for this kind of thing), the satirical swipe at cultural radio shows make the car journeys very pleasurable and the physical comedy of Smith as Eddie always raises a chuckle. All good stuff and not over-egged and Rodriguez is never afraid to go a little further to get his laughs. On the flipside the drama is a little heavy handed and it would have been nice to have some kind of back story and better relationship building might have given the film more longevity. As I said, it’s a very watchable, quite enjoyable effort but there’s just something missing.
It's Got: Subtle humour, okay acting, just enough physical humour
It Needs: Better dramatic parts, some more character relationship building moments, more longevity
Summary
The ridiculously-titled Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal is a film about art. Plus a bit of sleepwalking cannibalism. It’s watchable but fairly forgttable – give it a go nonetheless.