Protein – FrightFest 2024 Movie Review
Director: Tony Burke
Writer: Tony Burke, Mike Oughton (Screenplay)
Cast
- Craig Russell (Songbird)
- Steve Meo (High Hopes)
- Kai Owen (Canaries)
- Ross O’Hennessy (Avengement)
- Richard Elis (The Martin Decker Show)
Plot: A gym-obsessed serial killer murders and eats a local drug dealer for their protein, inadvertently sparking a brutal and bloodthirsty turf war between rival gangs.
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Protein starts when Sion (Russell) arrives in a small Welsh town after disturbing events. He has no money and is offered support by local gym owner Katrina (Burrows). However, the gym attracts the worst people, with a local drug dealer Dwayne (Owen) causing trouble. Sion decides to solve the problem himself, by killing and eating some of the evidence.
The murder causes ripple effects, with the rest of the gang believing it is drug-related. Meanwhile, Detective Patch (Hall) arrives, believing the murder has a connection to those from her local area, and is forced to work with local detective Stanton (Dale). The two detectives clash, Sion continues to adapt to local life and the drug gangs start clashing with each other.
Verdict on Protein
Protein is a crime horror following a serial killer who inadvertently causes a turf war between two drug gangs after killing one of the members. It sees the gang spiral out of control and the serial killer battles his demons and the cops try to figure out what is going on.
This movie blends a few stories to create a bigger one. One side with Sion feels a lot like watching ‘Dexter’ with the quiet killer targeting bad men. The bumbling drug gang brings a lighter touch to the story, as you spend more time laughing at them than taking anything they do seriously. In the final mixture, the two detectives clash and learn to understand the importance of working together. The three core components come together to bring a dark comedy horror to life. Even if watching the bumbling drug gang steals the show, the twisted killer needs to be more of a background figure for the events unfolding. The film has great performances, from Steve Meo’s comedic turn as Kevin to the brooding Craig Russell as the killer with very few words.
Final Thoughts – Protein is dark, twisted and oddly comedic.