Ravenous
Review by Peter Syslo

RAVENOUS (1999) is the best movie that I have seen in a long time. It is not specifically classified as a horror movie, but I do think that it has a lot of horror elements in place and it affected me like a good horror movie does. This was one of those movies that I still thought about, the day after I saw it. It is a film about cannibalism, basically, but it is done with such style and dark humor that it almost has a light-hearted feel to it. RAVENOUS was a strange, twisted, and brilliant experience that left its mark on me; the story, the atmosphere, the acting, and especially the music (perfect, perfect score – so odd, but so fitting) really made this film great and it really blew me away.

RAVENOUS is directed by Antonia Bird and is written by Ted Griffin. The film stars some very familiar faces, including: Guy Pearce (THE TIME MACHINE), Robert Carlyle (TRAINSPOTTING, 28 WEEKS LATER), David Arquette, Jeremy Davies (“Lost”, SOLARIS), Jeffrey Jones (FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF - principal), John Spencer (“The West Wing”), Stephen Spinella, and Neal McDonough (TIN MAN).

The film is about a U.S. soldier named Boyd (Pearce) who was a questionable hero in the Mexican-American War in 1847. After seeing Boyd get queasy at the sight of meat, at a dinner in his honor, we learn that he is being shipped out and stationed at a Fort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains . Basically, he and a few other soldiers are going to watch over the Fort and maintain it. One day, a strange man arrives at the Fort and collapses; they nurse him back to health and they learn that he is a Scotsman named Colqhoun (Carlyle), who was trapped in the nearby mount ains, for three months. It turns out that (like The Donner Party) his wagon train was trapped in a cave, for the winter, and they had to resort to cannibalism in order to survive. As the men at the Fort hear of this, they form a search party to go to the cave and search for survivors from Colqhoun’s party. This is the point where all of the horror begins – there are numerous twists and turns in the story which round out the movie as a historical piece, a western, a horror film, and a black comedy.

RAVENOUS is really a great movie; this is one of the most attention-grabbing films that I have seen in recent years. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next and every scene was perfectly in place – there was no wasted film in this movie. It definitely surpassed my expectations and it was one of the most exciting, historically-based movies that I have ever seen. The story was incredible; it was based in history and it was a twist on the Native American legend of Wendigo (a man that eats another man’s flesh goes mad with bloodlust). Also, it had an underlying “supernatural” theme to it, regarding the power of eating human flesh. Overall, the plot twists really took me by surprise and the unapologetic humor (sick, yet hilarious) in it just made it a completely enjoyable experience.

The acting was nothing short of amazing; everyone involved was so good in their roles, that you almost thought that they were actually those people (the acting is so good, that it doesn’t even seem like acting). The best performance was definitely Robert Carlyle – this guy has become my new favorite actor. His range in this film goes from a serious, stately gentleman to a feral, dog-like character – a shift which he accomplishes in the blink of an eye. He plays one of the most complex villains, with ease, and he made this film what it was. Pearce was also very good as Byrd – he played the “cannibal with a conscience” very well. All of the other actors really added a lot of texture to the film; especially Davies, with his bizarre nature and Jones, who is always an enjoyable presence in his films.

Regarding the other details of the film, the music was surreal, beautiful, and brilliant – I would have never thought to pair those musical ideas with this material. This movie is an example of the intertwining of music and film – both enhanced each other. It almost reminded me of a Kubrick or Lynch film; the music and the resultant atmosphere are that good – and that unsettling. Speaking of the strong horror element of the film (predominant, I think): as you watch the film, you are sitting in your living room and you kind of feel that you are at risk of being killed and eaten – it is that captivating. This film is an intense thriller, with all of the gore that is required to make you fear this fate – throats slashed, bodies hacked up for food, airborne blood, etc. Also, the legend of “Wendigo” and the supernatural, life-sustaining power attributed to human flesh make this movie even more horror-oriented. The film is somewhat disturbing and that is a good thing; however, it is not so offensive that one viewing is “enough” - I still want to see it again, even though I know all of the surprises.

Cutting to the chase: I rarely command readers to go and watch a film, but I will do it in this case – make it a point to see RAVENOUS! It is beautifully filmed, perfectly acted, has a haunting musical score, and it is a complex story which draws upon many influences. Just when I thought that the story couldn’t go in any more directions, it did; the tale kept going to new levels and it was “airtight” – no details were unnecessary. If you like historically-based horror, vampire films, the horror of cannibalism, or dark comedies (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, SEVERANCE) then you may like RAVENOUS. If you are “touchy” about the thought of cannibalism and you are turned off by gore, too bad. See the film anyway and get over your squeamishness – it’s worth it.