The Mollusk Murders Image

The Mollusk Murders

By Terry Sherwood | April 19, 2025

In a world where foodie culture has become mainstream entertainment, and culinary shows give some viewers “a dish to die for,” writer-director Joseph E. De Leo’s The Mollusk Murders serves up an offbeat, flavorful satire. It’s a surprisingly sharp blend of haute cuisine, urban loneliness, and sociopathy — a culinary thriller with a shucking knife’s edge. This isn’t The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, though the opening’s brief flirtation with flesh consumption is vaguely reminiscent of Peter Greenaway’s baroque shock. Instead, the film leans into the absurdity and dark humor of The Menu, Eating Raoul, and La Grande Bouffe, which is an infamous French-Italian satire where a group of men literally eat themselves to death.

At just over 46 minutes, this is a punchy, well-packaged urban fable. Faye (Selina An) is a workaholic freelance fashion photographer whose world shifts when she’s pulled into food photography. More dangerously, she’s come over with a sudden obsession with oysters. The mollusks, shucked with sensual precision, become a metaphor for indulgence, desire, and, ultimately, violence. Faye’s descent into madness is spurred by a quest for love in a world of curated meals and even more curated personas. Her attempts at dating foodies from an online app range from the pretentious to the pitiful. Men pontificate about cuisine, take selfies over appetizers, and misread her intensity.

Her response? A shucking knife and a steady hand into their torsos. The kills evoke shades of Basic Instinct, which the film cheekily references. Enter Gord (Michael Lake), an endearing social media chef known as The Wacky Chef. Faye believes he might be different. His laid-back attitude reveals that he isn’t a selfish user of women. But even good men reject women they don’t fancy. This rejection sends Faye over the edge.

Faye’s descent into madness is spurred by a quest for love in a world of curated meals and even more curated personas.”

Literature has long romanticized oysters: Wilde, Woolf, and Hemingway all saw them as vessels for metaphor. The Mollusk Murders picks up that baton with relish. De Leo, who also handles the cinematography and was a producer, keeps the visuals crisp and composed. Paul Rosebush’s musical score is unexpectedly dynamic, lending energy to the bloody moments. An, who wears many hats here — actor, producer, and more — brings a dry, deadpan energy, though her performance sometimes flirts with stiffness. Still, in a film this stylized, that might be the point.

The supporting players add dimension to Faye’s world: Kevin Lloyd Reid as a too-smiley waiter is fun. Olivia St. Louis, as a model and confidante, expresses some of the audience’s thoughts. Katie Layne is a vulnerable young woman lamenting the fashion industry’s seedy underbelly and helps keep the darker elements alive. These characters ground the absurdity in something grimly relatable.

The Mollusk Murders doesn’t go for over-the-top gore or camp. The director keeps the proceedings matter-of-fact in its sociopathy, which makes it all the more unsettling and, oddly, entertaining.  The length and fades into/out of scenes give the impression of being originally conceived as a show, allowing commercial time to hit an hour. Or maybe it is to be part of an anthology series. So order some oysters, pop a bottle of bubbly, and indulge in this wicked little gem. It’s slick, strange, and satisfying, like a crazy but exciting romantic liaison.

For more information about The Mollusk Murders, visit the De Leo Productions site.

The Mollusk Murders (2024)

Directed and Written: Joseph E. De Leo

Starring: Selina An, Michael Lake, Kevin Lloyd Reid, etc.

Movie score: 8/10

The Mollusk Murders Image

"…doesn't go for over-the-top gore or camp."

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