Los Angeles Times review praises ‘remarkable’ performance in Welsh language horror film

A review in the Los Angeles Times has praised a “remarkable” performance in a Welsh language horror film.

Film critic Noel Murray, who reviewed The Feast, or Gwledd in Welsh, for the California-based newspaper, had warm words for Annes Elwy, who stars as Cadi in the production.

It opens in theatres in the US today and is also being released on video on demand (VOD).

The movie, which was directed by Lee Haven Jones, written by Roger Williams and funded by Ffilm Cymru, was filmed in Welsh and has English subtitles.

It unfolds over the course of one evening as a wealthy family gathers for a sumptuous dinner in their ostentatious house in the Welsh mountains.

The guests are a local businessman and a neighbouring farmer, and the intent is to secure a business deal to mine in the surrounding countryside.

When a mysterious young woman (Cadi) arrives to be their waitress for the evening, the family’s beliefs and values are challenged as her quiet, yet disturbing presence begins to unravel their lives, slowly, deliberately and with the most terrifying consequences.

Noel Murray said: “As horror movies go, ‘The Feast’ is one for the gourmands, the kind of genre fans who like their thrills and kills to skew more avant-garde.”

‘Avenging spirit’ 

He added: “And Cadi is like an avenging spirit, sent by the land itself to show who’s really at the top of the food chain.

“The movie’s last act gets splashed with gore, as the dinner goes awry. But even here, there’s an elegance to ‘The Feast’ that makes its most disgusting images more palatable.

“The film takes its cues from Elwy’s remarkable performance as Cadi, who is at once seductive and terrifying. This is a story from the monster’s point of view as she walks into a nest of parasites and starts slowly, gleefully gobbling them up.”

The film features a cast of Welsh stars, including Nia Roberts, Sion Alun Davies, Steffan Cennydd, Julian Lewis Jones and Rhodri Meilir.

It has gathered awards and acclaim, after being shown at film festivals around the world including Fantasia in Canada, BiFan in South Korea, and Motel X in Portugal, where it won the Méliès d´argent award for Best European Fantastic Feature Film.