Just in time for Halloween season, James Roday’s new movie “Gravy” features three cannibals who take hostage of a Mexican cantina on Halloween for a night of mania. Every year, Mimi, Anson and Stef (Lily Cole, Michael Weston, Jimmi Simpson, respectively) get together on Halloween’s Eve and gorge themselves on human flesh until they could no longer move.

This year, the unfortunate victims are workers at a cantina who want to go home until they realize that they are locked in the restaurant. The trio of cannibals reveal themselves — what follows is a diabolical and disgusting tale of sin with a dark sense of humor.

The team rounds up all of the inhabitants of the restaurant, picks one and kills him off right away. The trio proceeds to toy with the workers for the remainder of the night by playing mind games, including immunity games in which the cannibals force victims through a series of meals in which they are served meals garnished with their dead friends. Eventually, when the hostages attempt to escape in the third act, the gore and blood is at an all-time high.

“Gravy” finds some twisted form of balance with a truly dark sense of humor, such as when two hostages try to find creative ways to smuggle a razor into the cantina. The film keeps a good balance between the twisted visuals and tropes of the horror genre. The whole film, though presenting a disturbing topic, does have a humorous tone throughout that provides a great amount of comedic relief and makes the film that much more enjoyable.

The copious amounts of blood and gore have a Tarantino feel to them, which keeps attention and focus on the characters. Even with a slow start, the movie quickly draws the audience in with the introduction of the captivating cannibals. The film doesn’t fully buy into the horror genre because its scary elements are used in a more comedic, farcical way. “Gravy” has buckets of blood but equal amounts laughter—just in time for the Halloween season.

“Gravy” premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday, Oct. 2.

Email Ramsee Chand at [email protected].