The New Jersey Film Festival takes a bite out of The Flesh People

by Jack Bolton

originally published: 09/19/2026

How far are you willing to go for success? What lines will you cross to feel important? Keshav Srinivasan asks these questions with The Flesh People, and the answers are gruesome. In this film, roommates Ricky (Jorge Carrión Álvarez) and Geraldine (Louise Heller) decide that the best way to make money is to do underground surgeries on people and serve food made of human meat. Trigger warnings aside, this might be one of the best body horror movies I've seen in a while.

The mood is set immediately, with the score playing over shots of a snowy city and an apartment that looks like it came out of The Yellow Wallpaper. Everything is a dull yellow, from the wall to the paper covering the windows, and Geraldine is “getting into character” by pretending to have a mental breakdown. Right off the bat, the audience knows what to expect; something dark, messy, and unsettling. It’s also worth noting that the apartment helps convey the theme of the film. Stagnation is shown through Geraldine's unchanging calendar and a mural she drew of her fifteen seconds of fame. The fear of that stagnation, that you’ll never get what you want out of life, is the driving force for the two roommates.

The actors play the roommates incredibly well. You could tell that Louise Heller has a Shakespearian background. She commands every scene she’s in, captivating the audience with her monologues and the sense of desperation in her performance. Jorge Carrión Álvarez was also great. The chemistry he has with Heller is incredible, and on his own, he conveys Ricky’s slow descent into insanity. Overall, they did an amazing job portraying both the horror and the comedy of their situation.

I also found myself impressed by the film’s production value. I’ve already showered the set design with praise, but the special effects are just as deserving. To choose an example that avoids spoilers, there’s a dream sequence where Ricky is chased by an eyeless Geraldine before he’s torn in half by a monster (he was then eaten by Dream Geraldine, but that’s not relevant yet). This quality extends to all of the body horror. Whenever they’re treating patients or obtaining “meat”, all of the body horror looks amazing. I’ve found myself squirming in my seat more often than not.

What I really appreciate is that Srinivasan avoids one of the main pitfalls of body horror. This isn’t like The Human Centipede, where the film relies solely on shock value; every dismemberment and axe to the face has a purpose. Even the aforementioned dream sequence tells us something about Ricky. When he was torn apart and eaten, he felt like “[He] had no worries… Like [he] was just two halves of meat”. This scene shows the viewer about the stress that Ricky’s going through, as well as foreshadowing his future mental state.

Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage

For all the merits of this film, it still has its flaws. First of all, I’ve found that Srinivasan tends to overuse the close up, especially in the beginning. In addition, everything feels kind of grainy, from the audio to the visual quality (this does not apply to the background music, which is exceptional). While this helps with the mood of the film, it has the unintended side effect of distracting the viewer. The lighting could also use some improvements. It’s hard to see the faces sometimes.

All things considered, I maintain that this is one of the best body horror movies I’ve ever seen. The horror and the story reinforce each other, the actors do an amazing job, and the production value is nothing to sneeze at. Do you think you have the stomach for it? Then come on down and meet The Flesh People.

The Flesh People screens online at Fall 2026 New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, September 26, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours! Buy tickets here.

The 45th Bi-annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Get more info here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2026.eventive.org/welcome