A trio of nomadic cannibals face the wrath of Lloyd, who is seeking revenge for the death of his friend at their hands.
One of Woodard's earlier works, the film clocks in at just under an hour and has earned itself a minor cult following in local circles. The film stars Rhys Lorenc, Jackson Dekker, Jeremy Ainsworth and Woodard himself as Lloyd's closest ally and his reluctant enabler.
This film provides examples of:
- Affably Evil: Cormac, Randall and especially Herschell exchange banter with Lloyd, oftentimes even while attacking him.
- Ambiguously Gay: The relationship between Eli and Lloyd has a certain degree of subtext, which has not gone unnoticed by fans.
- Anti-Hero: Although Lloyd is at first acting in self defence, he eventually goes too far in his revenge.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Herschell is perfectly nice to Lloyd, who only knows two of the cannibals by face and name. Dramatic irony ensues as the audience has already been introduced to Herschell as a villain.
- Black-and-Gray Morality: The three main groups are a trio of cannibals, a group of violent and selfish drug dealers and someone hellbent on murdering the first group at whatever cost. This might be one of the reasons behind the Downer Ending.
- Break the Haughty: Lloyd is by far the most aggressive when fighting back against the cannibals, and suffers the most psychologically as a result.
- Creator Cameo: As mentioned, Woodard appears as Eli, the close friend of protagonist Lloyd.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The fight between a weakened, later weaponless Lloyd and notorious criminal Cormac is this initially. Somewhat subverted as once Lloyd gains the upper hand, he keeps it, killing Cormac in minutes.
- Darker and Edgier: Woodard's earlier films were equally as gory and gruesome, but were generally more comedic compared to Fiends, which was the director's turn towards more serious filmmaking.
- Deadpan Snarker: Eli and Lloyd are both this, resulting in some Snark-to-Snark Combat.
- Downer Ending: The trio of cannibals are dead, but so is everyone else with the exception of Eli (who, according to
Word of God, later commits suicide out of guilt) - Evil Feels Good: It's implied by Randall that Lloyd, while driven partially by revenge, is also driven by his own unlocked bloodshed.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Partially the reason behind Herschell's accent.
- Fan Disservice: Many of the scenes in the movie, but notably Randall's torture scene and Cormac's hanging.
- Freudian Trio: Randall is Id, Cormac is Ego and Herschell is Superego.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Randall and Cormac definitely didn't anticipate the retaliation they'd get from Lloyd.
- Gotta Kill 'Em All: Lloyd is unrepentant and will even kill uninvolved strangers if it gets him closer to killing the cannibals.
- Heroic BSoD: After killing Randall, Lloyd briefly undergoes one of these, but recovers for long enough to kill Cormac before dying himself.
- Karma Houdini: Inverted, Herschell, who personally wrongs Lloyd the least, suffers perhaps the most brutal death via impaling.
- Kick the Dog: It's already established that Randall and Cormac are bad guys. Then they pull out Lars' kidney.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After Randall forces him to eat Lars' kidney, Lloyd retaliates by forcing Randall to eat his own.
- Large Ham: Many of the characters such as Trent and Herschell stray into this territory.
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Moral Event Horizon: Eli and Randall lampshade Lloyd crossing this.Eli: Your quest for revenge has fucked you in the head. Even if you go in there and come out alive, you'll be a changed person on the other side. - Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Lloyd probably would have stayed alive if he hadn't actively pursued the cannibals, alone, without any defence except a shovel.
- Only Sane Man: Subverted, Eli attempts to be a voice of reason but eventually succumbs and helps Lloyd.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: Lloyd may start off a victim, but in the end becomes the monster he was trying to kill.Randall: You're a fiend, just like me.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Lloyd is the Red to both Eli and Lars' Blue Oni.
- Took a Level in Badass: Lloyd becomes significantly stronger over the timeskip and, upon returning, is able to kill all three cannibals before dying himself. However, Lloyd also...
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Lloyd's actions become increasingly brutal, from killing uninvolved citizens to torturing Randall instead of just killing him.
