Eaten by Lions

Showing on Sky in the UK and various on-demand platforms.

Omar and Pete are two teenage brothers who find themselves alone after the death of their beloved Grandmother but in her passing she leaves the boys letters and in Omar’s tells him about his estranged father and he decides to go and find him in far off Blackpool.

Eaten by Lions is a strangely uneven film, but it does have its heart in the right place and is anchored by a nice on-screen relationship between the two brothers and especially by Jack Carrol’s Pete who strikes a nice balance between comedy and pathos.

Its problems stem from a rather flimsy premise and story, which while there are the chances to develop it and some of the characters more, never really does more than scratch the surface with them including the father/son story, which doesn’t grow much beyond son meeting infantile father! Instead it wastes time with a strange segment in the final act that sees Pete and Parveen on a wild ride through Blackpool picking up a range of waif and strays.

For all of its flaws the film does have things to enjoy, with some nice comic touches, a warm heart, some fun performances and lovely cinematography showing Blackpool off better than it ever has been.

It certainly not perfect but there’s enough good intentions to just about forgive it its flaws.