Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Flux Gourmet’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There was a time when becoming famous… was quite the intricate process. The kind where the person with stars in their eyes had to hone their craft and truly become a master of what they wanted to be known for, before packing their bags and heading out to Hollywood or New York, or whatever destination would let them live their dream. And even then, there was still so much work to be done when they arrived. Since they needed to find an ‘in’ into the industry of their choice and work their way to the top so that agents and managers would notice them and once they signed there, they still had more work to do. For now, they had to impress a whole new group of people and keep honing their craft while they worked their way to seeing their name in lights.
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Which meant… if you wanted fame, you had to work for it and dedicate yourself to your craft and your dream completely, and sacrifice along the way. But one day… that all changed. For the arrival of the internet and YouTube and other such services, cut out the work and the middlemen and allowed for people to entertain the masses as they saw fit. Giving rise to immediate stardom and fortunes untold for those that played their cards right, and a new path for anyone to reach the top with the right hook and a little can-do attitude. Which is something we should celebrate since a new era and path to fame has presented itself to all. But instead, this is something we lament and express concern over, since it is giving platforms to people… that honestly shouldn’t have one, and it is motivating vapid individuals to go after something they simply don’t deserve.

A reality that unfortunately prompts folks to have to have to sift through a lot of riff raff to find some worthwhile entertainment and of course, we find pause when we discover the horrors of letting the wrong folks have a soapbox to spew from. If anything, those concerns and the ugly that comes with them will soon be explored in great detail via a new film on Shudder. For Flux Gourmet is a horror film that examines the disgusting nature of chasing fame for the sake of being famous. A feat that it accomplishes, by plunging us into a world where people are vying for be in the limelight at any cost. Since we are introduced to an avant-garde trio of artists that are attending the prestigious Sonic Catering Institute, where they will learn to use sound and performance to unleash their perfect artistic creation. One that will catapult them to the top, and their work will be chronicled by a reporter named Stones, so the world can bask in the majesty of a true creative nexus in the world.

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Which is a plot, that gets under your skin in all the right ways, since one is immediately put off by the process for creativity that plays out here. Since it quickly becomes obvious that these ‘artists’ are in this to be famous and nothing more and have created a persona and a world of stories to make them appear to be genius and inspiring, and everything else we expect the top artists in the world to be. When they are of course, utterly average, and desperate to be seen, and unwilling to put in the work to actually understand creativity and its process and the dedication and honing that goes into it. Which leads to frustrating sequence after frustrating sequence, where the pompous nature of these characters dominates every single scene. However, while that makes for fascinating commentary on fame as it stands today and how people now chase it and why that should in fact… concern us, that doesn’t quite feel horrific in nature at first glance. In fact, one could cite it to be more dramatic than anything else.
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But have no fear, the horror elements are there. In part because these buffoons are spoon-fed praise and encouragement often, giving rise to moments that indulge in the horrors of the human ego and our arrogance and truly… their performances are terrifying to say the least. For this is when the story expresses how far people are willing to go to stand out from the rest, and wow… does this group of ‘artists’ push the envelope and go the extra mile to shock their audience and us as well, all in the name of being praised and lavished over. As so many others like them, crave through and through. Which in turn… leads to one heck of a twisted ending, one that brings all of these themes and moments together in a manner that leaves you speechless and as uncomfortable as you were when this journey got underway. 

Not to mention, the story also leans hard into the horrors of food since there are lots of little side nods into our uncomfortable and sometimes unhealthy relationships with food, and really all of these incredible elements and unique concepts offer up a horror film that is an outright feast for the mind. For it leaves us with plenty to think about, and we’ve really only skimmed the surface of the deeper meanings present within this twisted and delectable waking nightmare, and there’s good reason as to why we’ve kept this review so light on the details. Simply because, this is the kind of horror film you need to experience firsthand, to properly absorb the surprises and meaningful moments present here, and the good news is… you don’t have to wait that much longer to do so. For Flux Gourmet arrives on Shudder this Thursday, September 15, 2022, and we here at NTG hope you give it a look. Because this is a horror film that is unlike any other.

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