Blood Diner

This film has been selected by feminist collective Invisible Women for She’s a Maneater! Cannibalism, Consumption and Carnal Appetites, a curated programme of six repertory horror films as part of Dundead Film Festival 2026. DCA Supporters, Members and 18-25 Members get early access to tickets and passes (log in to access) with the festival opening for general sale on Fri 27 March at 10:00.

Brothers Michael (Rick Burks) and George (Carl Crew) are the deranged proprietors of a highly successful “vegetarian” restaurant, whose most popular dishes feature some stomach-churning secret ingredients. However, the brothers have got more on their mind than dominating the LA diner scene. Under the tutelage of the reanimated brain of their dead serial killer uncle (!) the bloodthirsty pair embark on a cannibalistic quest to collect enough body parts to resurrect a man-eating ancient goddess, unleashing spectacularly gory chaos along the way.

Outrageously over the top and defiantly messy, Blood Diner is a midnight movie through and through, complete with gonzo spirit, irrepressible energy and an anarchic sense of humour. Director Jackie Kong grew up around the movies - her mother was an actress and family friend Marlon Brando gave Kong her first 16mm camera as an 18th birthday present. Kong’s third feature’s defiant DIY energy reflects the take no prisoners determination required to succeed as an Asian-American woman working within the exploitation film scene of the 1980s. 

Drawing inspiration from Herschell Gordon Lewis’s legendary Blood Feast and the shock cinema of John Waters, Blood Diner is wilfully offensive and gleefully silly, but beneath the buckets of blood and campy set pieces lies an irreverent parody of horror tropes, consumerist appetites and slick Reagan-era excess. Fans of Bad Taste, Re-Animator and The Evil Dead are cordially invited to join the blood buffet.