By their very nature cannibal films are usually grimy squalid affairs and Protein is suitably set in a downbeat poverty striken, Welsh town beset by petty crime where ex-army drifter Sion (Craig Russell) arrives bringing his PTSD mind set with him. He’s not the only new guy in town with London police officer Patch (Andrea Hall) arriving shortly afterwards to assist local cop Stanton (Charles Dale) with a murder investigation that might link in with a serial killer case on her work file.
Landing a cleaning job in a pokey gym Sion battles with his demons that spills out into taking a hammer and battering one of a group of low life criminals that uses the gym that has threatened Katrina (Kezia Burrows) a single mum who runs the gym and seems intent that it’s not just iron that she wants Sion pumping.
But Sion’s manner of despatching of the dead body is not burying or burning but eating, a habit that he seems to have picked up in Afghanistan, giving the film the protein of its title that feeds Sion’s bodybuilding. It’s what gives the film its horror chops with Sion cooking and devouring meat and sloshing down flesh packed and now protein packed shakes in close up that may turn stomach’s even more effectively than a twerking Meghan Markle. But not only has Sion lightened the town’s scumbag count with the murder of a low life villain he‘s also unwittingly instigated a turf war between the group of bodybuilders and an Albanian drug gang.
Developed from a 2014 short film director Tony Burke has expanded this with Craig Russell reprising the role to excellent effect with an equally good supporting cast of scuzzy local gang members played by Ross O’Hennessy, Richard Elis and Gareth John Bale with a great turn by Steve Meo as a mummy’s boy frequently harangued by on off screen harridan of a mother. The dialogue is zingy too with the two initially mismatched cops adhering to the law of cop films and developing a mutual respect for each other. Best of all is the bickering between the members of the low rent gang with a panicky whining Steve Meo with some very funny lines. The humour takes the edge off the gore that’s nowhere near as in your face as films such as Eli Roth’s ‘The Green Inferno’ or the notorious ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ and this is likely to be one the best low budget Brit films we’ll see this year.
related feature : Why the director of the infamous ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ was put on trial for murder…
related feature : ‘Sweeney Todd : Slice & Dice’ – Actor Terry Bird talks horror and genre mash ups!
We chatted to star Craig Russell and director Tony Burke about the film……
Here’s the Protein trailer……
