Alicia I love this movie so much

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

EVOL666 Rarely do I refer directly to another reviewers review when I put my own take on a film, but I agree 100% with FERTILECELLULOID's opinion of this film and of the other films he references when comparing them to this one. MAN EATER had the potential to be a truly great film, but got lost somewhere along the line and the emotional response that the viewer initially feels becomes clouded by a "rushed" feeling second half.The film tells the semi-biographical story of Li Hui Huang (or Zee-Oui as he is "re-named" by customs officials when he reaches Thailand...) - a sickly and slow-witted Chinese immigrant to Thailand after WWII, who works odd-jobs and steals when convenient in order to support his existence. Plagued with a violent case of asthma that he constantly suffers from - Huang is often berated and picked-on by other adults and children alike due to his weaknesses, both mental and physical. His mind-state goes from bad-to-worse based on a combination of this relentless bullying, a string of insufferably bad luck, and his deteriorating health. Unable to consistently afford proper medicine, Huang resorts to abducting and killing children to secure a "remedy" that was originally introduced to him as a young boy by his mother. Meanwhile - a female reporter is on the case of the child-killer, and is eventually able to peg Huang for the crimes after a slip-up at one of the murder scenes...MAN EATER started off as a very strong film that showed the inner torment of a man plagued by many factors that caused him to go insane. Unfortunately - the film didn't keep with this tone and towards the second-half turned more into a typical "good-guys-chasing-the-bad-guy" type of film. Even so, MAN EATER is quite a bit above average in almost every respect (hence my still giving it a pretty high rating...), but I felt that focusing more on Huang and his "journey" would have made this a near perfect film. The acting is great, the sets/locations are superb, and the basic subject matter is interesting and thought-provoking. There are some relatively "graphic" scenes of child-violence, but most of the actual violent acts are portrayed off-screen, thought the aftermath of Huang's deeds are shown pretty unflinchingly. But again, as FC mentioned - MAN EATER never quite reaches the exploitative graphic excess of THE UNTOLD STORY, or the extremely dark tone of IN A GLASS CAGE (both films that deal with somewhat similar subject matter) - and personally I would have liked to have seen MAN EATER get taken to those extremes. Regardless - this is a very solid film that I would still recommend. The story is apparently based on a true-crime case, though I have never researched it to see how well the film follows the real-life events - but it's fascinating stuff nonetheless...7.5/10

julian kennedy Zee-Oui Man Eater: 6 out of 10: This movie takes the concept of a bleeding heart liberal to a whole new level.The main character is a very put upon man. He is traumatized by the horrors of war in his native China, practically enslaved in a foreign country where he doesn't speak the language, tormented by native Thai bullies, body racked by tuberculosis, and barely able to work or eat. He is a truly sympathetic character and the filmmakers waste not one moment making sure we feel his pain.He is also a believer in alternative or homeopathic medicine. Unfortunately for the Thai small fry the secret holistic Chinese cure for tuberculosis is the still warm heart of a small child eaten raw. Oh by the way this is a true story.Set in 1946 the filmmaker twins Buranee Rachjaibun and Nida Suthat Na Ayutthaya do a great job setting the stage and this is a truly handsome production. Gore hounds may feel they mistakenly walked on the set of some strange all Asian Les Miserables and while the cannibalistic violence does show up on occasion this will not be mistaken for an Italian cannibal film. Think Silence of the Lambs but with Charlie from Flowers for Algernon as the protagonist.While the main story does invoke an almost disturbing sympathy for a despicable character much like "M" did the subplot of the investigating female reporter and her terrible past and tepid romance drags the movie to a halt.Overall Zee-Oui lacks a subtle undercurrent that would make this a better film. Every point is pounded home endlessly and by the time our main heart eater is crying over his flooded lettuce patch I was ready to scream, Enough! Apparently even God hates him. Probably because he goes around killing children and eating them. But that is just a wild guess mind you.

furlough1 A down on his luck refugee keeps getting the short end of the stick, finally snapping and resorting to cannibalism as a belief that it will cure his asthma.. Not as gruesome as some lead you to believe .. but in this modern day of "SOFT SENTIMENTALITY" in movies, it shocks like no other has lately.. Strangely you find yourself feeling sorry for a cannibalistic child killer.. simply based on all the crap the poor bastard goes through before he snaps... Over all a very good, very thought provoking look at a sad sack gone mad.

HumanoidOfFlesh "Zee Oui" is a surprisingly grisly tale of Thai serial killer and cannibal,who murders small children.Li Hui is a Chinese immigrant,who works in Thailand as the butcher.Everone treats him with an utter contempt.Driven completely out of his mind,Li Hui starts killing small children and,if that's not bad enough,he also believes he must eat their hearts and livers,in order to contain his severe tuberculosis."Zee Oui" is actually based on a true crime case of cannibalistic serial killer.It features some rather unpleasant scenes of violence against children,so squeamish should definitely avoid it.Still Li Hui is a pretty complex character and his murderous behavior is attributed to the physical effects of tuberculosis.The directors are two sisters,who only made several television commercial before making this stylish film.Recommended for fans of Asian horror.8 out of 10.