Feeding Lamb

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Definitely nothing heartwarming to see here. It doesn't stoop as low as the plotlessness of the movie Tumbling Dolls of Flesh, and doesn't have the complexity of the manhwa of Killing Stalking. However, I think it's fair to say it sits somewhere in the middle.

The first chapter opens up to a mystery man whose face we cannot see torturing someone. Cut to the present and suddenly we're introduced to the 2 main characters, a drunk and drug addict who has epilepsy and a nurse. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say that if you're looking for an extra gritty story about ... a serial killer that has a decent story but focuses a lot more on the depravity, this might be it.

The issues I have are with the abruptness of the end, how it felt like the ending of a number of poor horror flicks that decide to throw the "you never escaped" twist at us. The next is the art. It's not horrible. But on occasion (especially in the beginning) certain characters (for instance, the nurse) tend to be drawn slightly different. There were a few panels I had to do a double take on because of this. And finally, the flashback scenes came on without warning and were a little hard at first to realize you'd even gone back into the past.

Would I say this story had substance? It did have some story, but it didn't really feel like it had much of a purpose per sae other than to shock. It never felt like we got close enough to Bran, one of the main characters. I get that it's because he's a deplorable deadbeat, but it'd have been nice to get inside his mind so that we could sympathize with him some more. On the other hand, we never really got a feel as to what made the nurse so attached to Bran other than "he saved his life". We got a taste of Bran's home life to an extent, but the nurse being as mysterious as he was makes it feel like we were robbed of an opportunity for a bit more psychological drama.

Feeding Lamb is more of an elaborate torture porn but one that's done fairly well despite some issues with the introduction of the flashbacks and some difficulty of discerning faces at the start.

I've seen it compared to the manhwa Killing Stalking, but honestly, I would say that if you'd like to make that comparison, then Feeding Lamb would be the guttural essence without the character development or depth. It's like taking out the past with the killer's mom and dad in Killing Stalking, making it to where we don't get to see the Stockholm syndrome forming or try getting to see the other characters as they worry about the fate of their loved ones. Feeding Lamb is arguably the more depraved underbelly which doesn't want you to sympathize or understand but to bare witness, and for how it's presented, I say it does a bang up job at that.

Spoilers below.

What a family-friendly story! In all seriousness, this was ok for a psychological horror. A serial killer nurse (Andy) feels indebted to an alcoholic epileptic (Brandon) who saved him as kids. Too bad the guy he saved had killed even when young, as killing small animals is usually a sign for psychopathic disorders. Why does Andy continue to help Brandon, who's clearly wasting his life away? Why does Brandon not seem put off enough by Andy's murderous tendencies? Such is their complex, deranged relationship. Would've been nice for Andy to die the way he was saved; getting hit by a train, a true serving ... of karma. What a wild ride.

Now, as much explicit gore as there is in here, this is actually one of the more plot-heavy works of Masumi Nishin (although the plot is straightforward and simple). Do not read this if you're looking to come out of it feeling good, or get attached to anyone, or see sexy and loving scenes. It's a story of two deeply flawed, fucked-up men who cling to and use each other until their inevitable destruction—if you approach it as anything but that, you'll have a bad time.

I'm docking two points because the detective subplot needed a bit more fleshing out, and because it's never addressed how ... easy it is for Andy to do what he does without getting caught or rousing suspicion. However, I did appreciate the attention paid to details like epilepsy, drug and alcohol abuse, how one event can derail one's life, and how sociopaths can go under the radar. Needless to say, I found the art gorgeous; Nishin doesn't shy away from showing the nasty bits, and all her characters are distinct. Points for Andy, because that blank stare gave me more chills than the gory scenes.

The only part of the story that got to me, as a seasoned horror fan, was the animal abuse; fortunately, that part was fairly short, but it was explicit, so be wary of that. As before: read the tags and warnings on other sites, and don't expect that much subtlety.