- Nothing is as it seems when a rookie cop is assigned to watch over a serial killer known as the "Eater".
- Officer Bannerman is assigned to watch after the police station with two other officers during the night. Things go routinely until a person is brought into holding, who is supposedly responsible for over thirty "Silence of the Lambs"-style killings. Now, as things go from odd to frightening, Bannerman must determine just who is who because this Cajun killer may be more than just a mere cannibal.—bioguyver43
- The back of a police van opens and two officers emerge into the snowy night. They escort an absolute giant of a man whose face is hidden behind a mat of hair. The giant is cuffed and shackled. The trio shuffles toward the front door of small police station.
Inside, the other officers are shocked.
"Did you see the size of the guy?" whispers an amazed cop.
One officer, a small blonde woman, watches the giant until he disappears up a staircase.
Upstairs, the giant is led into a holding cell and locked behind bars.
"Do you have any questions or concerns?" the sergeant asks.
The giant begins laughing a deep, throaty chuckle that unnerves the cop. With a wary look, the sergeant leaves the giant sitting alone in the cell.
The giant then produces a small talisman from his sleeve. He begins shaking it while chanting. He continues to chant through rotted teeth.
The viewer gets the distinct feeling that something bad is about to happen. Opening credits! Welcome to "Fear Itself!"
Roll call time. Sarge reads off names of officers in attendance. We discover that the blonde cop's name is Bannerman. She is just three months into the job.
The other cops haze her and not in a friendly way. A fat cop named Marty grabs a magazine she has hidden under her clipboard called "Death Dance: For All Your Horror Needs." Marty calls her "goth cop." Another officer, Mattingly, is even more blunt. He doesn't like the idea of a girl backing him up. Sarge gives the cops their assignments and then adds another bit of news.
"We have a special overnight guest," he says. "He's an eater."
The giant has killed over 30 people in the last two years. He kills the males right away and keeps the females alive for weeks. Either way, his victims always end up as dinner. Sarge explains that Marty, Mattingly and Bannerman will be "holding down the fort" that night while the rest of the officers go out on patrol.
Bannerman approaches Sarge, wanting to know more about this "Eater."
"They found intestines and other body parts in the fridge wrapped up in plastic bags," he says. "You think that's weird? Wait until you hear about the wardrobe they found hanging in his closet. Custom made from the skin of his victims."
Marty makes the comparison to Hannibal Lecter from "Silence of the Lambs." Bannerman points out that it was actually Buffalo Bill who skinned his victims in the movie.
"Nothing worse than a horror movie geek," Marty quips.
Bannerman asks to see the report on the giant. Sarge hands it over.
"You know Hannibal the Cannibal is make believe," he says. "This guy isn't."
Bannerman goes to the locker room. She is startled to find a blow up doll in her locker. "Bastards," she mutters. She begins reading the report on the "Eater."
The Eater, meanwhile, is still chanting in his cell. He rocks back and forth.
Bannerman reads. We see a flashback of the man cutting out a woman's tongue. The giant fries it and eats it. Bannerman shakes her head, disgusted. Suddenly, there is a CRASH.
Bannerman runs upstairs to find Marty messily devouring pizza. He claims to have not heard a thing. Marty takes another huge bite of pizza. Bannerman thinks she sees an eyeball on the slice. She shakes her head. She couldn't have seen that right?
They discuss the killer sitting in the holding cell. He is Cajun. Marty comments that its not unusual for folks on the bayou to use every single part of a gator. Bannerman heads upstairs to the holding cell. The Eater lies quietly and is covered in a blanket. Marty suddenly appears behind her.
"You ever wonder why he does it?" Marty asks.
"Kill people?" she responds.
"And eat them," Marty says.
"Maybe he gets a thrill out of it," Bannerman says. "A kind of sexual turn on."
Marty swallows hard.
"I think it's the power that gets him off," he says. "There's an old voodoo saying that says if you cut a man's heart out and then you eat it before it stops beating, not only do you gain his strength but you also gain his spirit."
Suddenly, Marty hears a noise from downstairs. He leaves to investigate. Bannerman grabs the ring of keys and approaches the cell when the Eater ROARS and grabs for her! Bannerman closes her eyes. She opens them to see the giant still lying still underneath his covers. She is jumpy to say the least.
Mattingly enters the room. He tells Bannerman to calm down and stop "being such a woman." Bannerman begins laughing. "You guys are doing this on purpose," she says. "You guys are messing with my head."
Mattingly is not amused. He asks Bannerman if she wants a cup of coffee. She declines and turns back to the cell. He asks again but it's not Mattingly's voice. It's Marty's voice. Bannerman turns back to Mattingly, who claims that he doesn't know what she is talking about.
"What's wrong with you?" Mattingly says. He then advances on her menacingly.
Bannerman runs downstairs but can't find Marty. She runs to the front door but its been locked with a chain from the outside. She runs to the radio but it doesn't work. Nor does the phone. She opens her cell phone only to hear the Eater's chanting.
Bannerman looks down. Mattingly lays dead under the desk his heart ripped out.
She makes another run for it and almost crashes into Sarge, who has apparently returned to the station.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asks.
Bannerman says that the Eater has somehow escaped the holding cell.
"He killed Mattingly and now he is disguised as Marty," she breathlessly explains. "He's taken their appearance! I know it sounds insane but he has!"
"So you're saying he assumes the identity of whoever he eats?" asks a bemused Sarge.
Bannerman swears she is not crazy. The two grab guns and head upstairs to check things out. They hear a banging coming from the holding cell. They enter and find Marty hanging dead from the ceiling. His heart has been ripped out.
Bannerman sees another body sticking out from behind a couch. It is covered in a blanket. Sarge tells Bannerman to check the body's face. She pulls back the blanket to reveal a dead Sarge.
Behind her, the Eater (disguised as Sarge) begins softly chanting behind Bannerman.
"You're one hell of a cop, Bannerman," he says in a deep, gravely voice. His teeth are suddenly rotted.
Bannerman runs for her life. She hides behind a locker in the locker room. Someone approaches. Bannerman springs. She grabs the man and twists his arm behind his back.
It's Marty.
"You're the damn Eater!" Bannerman says.
Marty agrees his teeth suddenly rotted. The Eater/Marty pins Bannerman to the ground. She fights back, throwing punches. He bites into her hand before she can pull away and escape.
Bannerman stumbles upstairs, trying to stop her hand from bleeding. Mattingly appears out of nowhere. Mattingly being the Eater, of course. Bannerman manages to kick him in the leg and then runs back downstairs. She comes to the front door and then stops, turning to face the creature.
"I can't let you go," she says.
The Eater, meanwhile, morphs from Mattingly to Marty to Sarge to the giant.
"I particularly like it when my prey is frightened," he says. "Relax. It will only hurt a little while."
He bites off her ear, chewing and swallowing it. She punches him and escapes again. She notices a supply closet and rat poison on the shelf inside.
The Eater pursues. He follows a trail of blood leading to the closet. He opens the door and drags Bannerman out.
Time to eat, he says, licking his lips.
Bannerman doesn't struggle. The Eater begins to eat but something is clearly wrong. Suddenly, he convulses in pain.
We see a flashback of Bannerman rubbing rat poison on her neck and then eating a handful for good measure.
The Eater continues to convulse.
"You bitch!" he says, foaming at the mouth. "You killed me! You killed me!"
He falls to the floor. Both lie dead.
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