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Flesh Eater, released in 1988, is a gritty contribution to the zombie genre popularized by the late George A. Romero. Directed, produced, and starring S. William Hinzman, who horror aficionados will recognize as the cemetery zombie from Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead," Flesh Eater returns Hinzman to his undead roots in a film where he takes the lead as the titular character, the flesh eater.

Set in the rural backdrop typical of many horror flicks from the era, Flesh Eater unfolds as a tale of accidental horror revival. The sordid affair begins when a group of young people stumble upon a sealed coffin during a hayride event – a common setup for disaster in the horror genre. Their curiosity leads to them unwittingly releasing the imprisoned flesh eater into the unsuspecting world.

S. William Hinzman's flesh eater is not your run-of-the-mill zombie. Unlike the moaning, disoriented corpses of many zombie narratives, the flesh eater is an entity of singular purpose and deliberate action. With an eerie calmness and unsettling resolve, Hinzman's portrayal injects the creature with a frighteningly predatory demeanor.

The unfortunate young individuals who encounter the flesh eater are played by a host of actors typical to this style of cinema—up-and-coming talents capable of delivering the necessary range of emotions from youthful frivolity to sheer terror. John Mowod appears among these actors, contributing to the film's atmosphere of desperate survival as the characters find themselves in increasingly perilous situations.

Leslie Ann Wick joins the cast as one of the young individuals whom the resurrected carnivore targets. As a staple character of the genre, she portrays the combination of naiveté and grit required to face the horror that's been unleashed. This character dynamic is crucial to the film as it sets up the contrast between everyday human vulnerability and the relentless force of the newly awakened undead.

As the narrative advances, Flesh Eater doesn't shy away from the tropes that define its category. From the remote setting that feels a world away from civilization to the lurking threat that is exponentially growing as the flesh eater claims more victims. In a contagion-like fashion, the horror spreads, creating a sense of inevitability that imbues each scene with suspense.

Flesh Eater's cinematography is reflective of its time, with grainy footage and practical effects that give the film its macabre texture. This tactility is an integral part of the film’s aesthetic which can make the tension feel almost palpably real. Rather than rely on excessive gore, Flesh Eater employs it in a manner that services the narrative's needs, providing shock and disgust at the requisite moments to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

The soundtrack accompanying the film is usually filled with hauntingly simple musical scores that punctuate the horror rather than overwhelm it. Periodic silences are used effectively to increase tension and highlight the sense of isolation that the characters experience, which is punctuated by the sounds of nature that become ominously foreboding as the story unfolds.

As the story progresses, it becomes a struggle not only for the characters’ survival but also for their morality and humanity. The script does well to inject moments of reflection amid the carnage to raise the stakes on what it means to be human when faced with unspeakable horror. The narrative also weaves in elements of suspense and delivers moments of shock value that audiences of such films have come to expect.

Flesh Eater offers several nods to the cinematic heritage of the zombie genre. As both an homage and an extension to the "Night of the Living Dead," it carries with it a reverence for the traditional aspects of horror while also indulging in its own creative freedoms to craft a distinctive story within the boundaries of its molded archetype.

Overall, Flesh Eater stands as a cult classic, for it embodies the raw, almost guerrilla-style filmmaking that marked many of the era’s horror films. For aficionados of the genre, it is a piece that reflects both reverence for the works that paved the way and an earnest effort to contribute to the zombie narrative. The film captures the essence of independent horror cinema, turning low-budget constraints into creative opportunities that galvanize its place within the cult horror community.

Flesh Eater is a 1988 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 28 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 4.9.