Eat the Rich (2023) Review
Eat the Rich (2023) Review
EVELYN “EVIE” ELKINS (Morgan Bow in her debut) is a single mother struggling through the pandemic with her daughter ELIZABETH “EASY” ELKINS (Morgan Pyle) and living back home with her retired parents. She gets by serving food at a B&B to loudmouth local politicians like State Congressman JIM RICHARDSON (Raymond Kester) and the help of her best friend MARK ANDREW (Evan Lahee). When she’s not fighting with her ex-husband over mask mandates and social distancing she’s playing tabletop RPG’s online with Mark, his girlfriend JOEY (Dakota Bruton) and his roommate ADAM BEARD (Cody “Kharn” Alexander).
One night Evie gets a text from Adam to meet him outside only to find Jim Richardson tied up in the back of his van. Adam convinces Evie, Mark, and Joey to help him hold the congressman accountable for all the things going wrong in the world until Mark discovers that Adam isn’t who appears to be. Reality degrades into madness as Adam breaks down the barriers between all the possibilities in the infinite universe. With her friends caught between Adam and a life in prison, Evie must decide whether to save them or embrace the chaos. Can she rescue Mark and Joey or will she join Adam and realize her full potential.
Written and directed by Kermet Merl Key, his first feature as director, EAT THE RICH – not to be confused with the Eighties Comic Strip Presents film from the Eighties with the same name – is a pandemic-based flick with Lovecraftian overtones. It starts off a little shaky but stick with it as this low-budget treat soon finds its groove. This is better thought out and put together than other lower-budget flicks I receive to review, and it also proves that anything Lovecraftian can work on low budget when in the right hands.
It’s a little rough around the edges in places but the dialogue and the performances elevate this above the norm and Kermet Merl Key achieves wonders with a small budget. I’d welcome seeing what this guy can do as and when he is afforded more finance for making a flick. Oh, and those audio glitches that start happening early in the film. If you hadn’t figured as such, they’re deliberate. Stick with the earlier more talkative patches and you’ll be rewarded with a low-budget flick that has big ideas and manages to get them out there in an easily digestible way.
