Child Eater (2016) d. Erlingur Ottar Thorodsson (USA) (82 min)
With his vision failing from macular degeneration, petting zoo proprietor Robert Bowery (Jason Martin) starts to lose his younger clientele as parents fear for their offspring’s safety. His macabre solution is to viciously gouge out and consume the eyes of children in the hopes not going blind, which understandably does not go over too well with the community at large. Fast forward 25 years: the myth of the old dark zoo on the edge of the woods is alive and well, and babysitter Helen (Cait Bliss) is tasked with watching Lucas (Colin Critchley), the young lad whose father has recently taken up residence near The Old Bowery Place. As night falls, Lucas senses a malevolent figure lurking in his closet (one resembling a gaunt and begoggled coal miner); while Helen dismisses it as the after-effects of their evening’s scary movie, the boy – and the audience – knows better, and the race is soon on to see who will survive the night with orbs intact.
