Cannibal Mukbang (2025) Review

Amiee Kuge’s 2023 award-winning release, Cannibal Mukbang, is a “boy meets girl, girl eats boys” story with a healthy dose of gore and emotional depth. The bloody love story is now available for streaming on multiple platforms.

A lonely single man, Mark (Nate Wise), meets Ash (April Consalo) on a late night snack run. After a stuttering introduction, Ash accidentally hits him with her car and brings him home. Their unlikely meeting blossoms into a deep connection fueled by mental instability, codependency, and obsession. It’s difficult to tell if their feelings are genuine or motivated by the desperation to not be alone. There’s moments of heart wrenching vulnerability and confusing callousness that will leave you wondering if Ash and Mark are really dedicated to each other up until the film’s final moments.

In its first act, Cannibal Mukbang solidifies itself as a horror movie for the chronically online. It covers internet hot topics like mukbangs, feeders, and quack diets at a breakneck speed. While the introduction to our main characters drags a little, once the roles are set, you’re plunged into a world of surrealist visions, unsettling behaviors, and, of course, flesh eating. Even if you’re not hip to the online jargon, the drama and horror elements of the story more than make up for a few missed references.

There is also some satire and laughs to be had that dark comedy fans will surely appreciate. Kuge injects a kind of humor that bridges the gap between millennial “awkward taco” and Gen Z nihilism. It’s not for everyone and coupled with some, intentional or not, overacting it makes some seminal scenes difficult to sit through. It’s as if each character is a stereotype you can find in a Reddit thread dialed up to 11.

This is a very nice looking film, from the cozy sets of Ash’s apartment to the dismemberment scenes. There’s a few quirky designs that show how much attention to detail there was with the special effects and set design like a human charcuterie board. Peppered throughout Mark’s perspective are surrealist dreams that could easily be sliced into an art house film of their own. The shift of visual tone is jarring at first but you slip in and out of it easier as the strangeness of the plot ramps up.

Toward the end of the second act, the drama of a new relationship starts to take center stage and the objectively horrific acts the couple are committing fade into the background. Both of them have normalized their wrongs to justify their comforts or protect them from heartache. In an effort to become closer, Ash reveals her past and despite it bringing up the question of “do two wrongs make a right”, this lore resolves some of the moral hang-ups Mark had in the beginning of their venture.

The honeymoon phase is brought to an abrupt end when Ash’s next victim walks through her door. Ash and Mark’s inevitable demise is devastating, high energy, and, of course, blood soaked. This final scene is like the curtain finally being pulled back to show the reality of what has been going on. Ash and Mark’s reality is one full of rage, devastation, and pain. It’s not the stylish, sick, romance the audience has been watching unfold.

Cannibal Mukbang is a love story that is set within feminist themes, vigilante cannibalism, and social commentary. Its use of online topics and humor make it feel exclusive to a younger demographic and invites them to examine how they are forming their relationships. Still, the seriousness of these themes won’t deter horror fans looking for a fun watch. Dark humor, practical effects, and lengthy cannibalism scenes carry this narrative and make it one of the more unique cannibal films in recent years.

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Cannibal Mukbang trailer