TOBE HOOPER's EATEN ALIVE knows how to creep me out. The opening music alone is a swirling miasma of otherworldly chirps and moans that can turn any hour of the day into half past midnight. I know some folks have a hard time digesting its fluorescent fever dream atmosphere after THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE's gritty and grounded approach but I love the contrast. It's like the difference between ROB ZOMBIE's neon hallucination HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and his earthy neo-western THE DEVIL'S REJECTS but in reverse. What I love most about EATEN ALIVE though is HOOPER's mad genius decision to film the movie entirely on a soundstage complete with an indoor pool masquerading as a swamp. The end result is that everything that occurs has a surreal and artificial aura about it. I'm guessing the prevalent tone of vague falseness is enough to turn some viewers off but I love it. It feels like old Hollywood mixed with that terrible (or relieving) moment in a nightmare when you realize you're not in reality. It's eerie, strange and bonkers and I wrote a longer review probably using many of the same adjectives HERE. More importantly, EATEN ALIVE is available to watch for free over at this joint that calls itself VIEWSTER right over HERE. If you're in the mood to inject some raving mad lunacy into your day, it'll certainly do the trick.
