Ravenous - Friß oder stirb

Oh man, where do I begin with my inexplicable obsession with this movie? I think part of the reason I love `Ravenous' so much is that it often seems that no one else does; either due to not having seen it, or just not appreciating it. I admit, it's the kind of movie you're going to love or hate, either you get it or you don't. But I can remember seeing it in the theater the first time, and just not being able to believe that I was laughing at what I was laughing at. That's really the best way I can sum up my reaction to this film; there's a certain absurdity underlying all of its themes. It seems like the biggest confusion with people/critics and `Ravenous' is over whether or not it's intent is to be comic. Indeed the comic tone is established from the very beginning, from the opening quotes and first scene. To be sure, it is certainly dark, very very dark comedy, with an interesting mix of `cannibal/vampirism' (see Roger Ebert's review, the only one I've read that does Ravenous justice). However, director Antonia Bird does carry some more serious themes throughout Ravenous, but with a biting satirical edge-- she particularly seems to be commenting on American excessive consumption of all kinds, from meat-eating (and human-flesh eating in this case), to manifest destiny. Most powerful is the truthful notion that we all must "kill to live" in some way or another, and in our willingness or unwillingness to do so, we must differentiate between cowardice and morality. I'm just pounding the dark comedy thing into the ground though because I think that watching Ravenous, it is very important to keep in mind that principally it is supposed to be humorous, and yes, you are supposed to laugh at cannibalism believe it or not, because if you don't, you'll probably just find the film gory and disgusting.

Ravenous is carried by its bold, wacky, charismatic characters. Well, okay, the one exception here is Guy Pearce as central character Captain John Boyd, who is rather subdued in contrast to everyone else, quite intentionally so. Pearce does a very fine job making Boyd very quiet, introspective, and uncomfortable as he is sent to the wonderfully creepy and dysfunctional Fort Spencer, due to his discovered "cowardice" in war. Robert Carlysle is also excellent as the crazy Colqhoun/Ives. I liked the rest of the people at Fort Spencer, all eccentric in their own ways, although all may not last too long. It's nice to see Jeremy Davies as the adorable, religious Toffler, but Neal McDonough is the real stand out as the tough, super-hero like character of Reicht, `the soldier'; with his icy blue eyes and shocking white-blond hair he is the epitome of bravery and masculinity, and certainly forms a direct contrast to the sensitive, cautious, and all-too-human Boyd. Basically, the plot comes to revolve around an old Native American legend--the Wendigo myth–-which states when a man eats another man he takes on his strength and spirit. There are quite a few twists and turns and surprises in Ravenous that should be enough to hold any viewer's attention.

The soundtrack to this film is also quite striking and omnipresent; with original eerily beautiful orchestral tracks that add much of the atmosphere in every situation. Particularly beautiful is the simple, little ‘Boyd's theme', which is used throughout the film as Boyd journeys. The music adds not only to the eerieness of the film, but yes, even the humor. If there is any point at which I still had any kind of doubt about Ravenous being comical it was shattered in a scene where Boyd and Reicht go after the evil Ives, and I hear classic banjo `chase music' complete with yodelling; you just can't help but laugh and shake your head. And even though everyone else already has, I'll give another nod to the cinematography of the gorgeous yet bleak and dangerous icy mountain range.

Ravenous is classic for scenes of such absurd, dark humor in any situation, as when (in the same chase scene) Boyd leaps off a cliff to go tumbling down a hill and crashes into Reicht. Just when a moment is getting serious, it boldly will hit you with such a cartoonish image. Like i said, either you'll love it, or you just won't. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about Ravenous that grabs me so much, but it is just a combination of everything. It's like no movie I've ever seen. It's smart, satirical, observant and insightful (watch for a nice use of Ben Franklin quotes), and yes, funny. While not for everyone, it surely has cult film potential written all over it.

'Ravenous' is a highly entertaining and original blend of horror and black comedy. Apparently it had troubled beginnings with the original director being fired and Antonia Bird coming in as a last minute replacement at the behest of co-star Robert Carlyle ('Trainspotting') who had previously worked with her on 'Priest', a more different movie than this you couldn't imagine! Anyway, Bird triumphed and ended up with an excellent movie. David Arquette and Jeremy Davies are two actors I have little time for but they didn't have much on screen time and didn't detract from the great performances by Carlyle and 'Memento's Guy Pearce, who really sold the movie to me. I also really liked the role played by Tim Burton regular Jeffrey Jones. I enjoyed the work of all three actors, the unpredictable script, the inventive direction, and the unusual score by Peter Greenaway regular Michael Nyman and Blur's Damon Albarn, which reminded me at times of cult favourites Penguin Cafe Orchestra. 'Ravenous' isn't the greatest movie I've ever seen but I have enjoyed it all three times I've watched it and that's a lot more than I can say about most movies around these days. It's wicked fun with very clever touches of black comedy, and I highly recommend it.

If someone were to ask what Ravenous is all about, the easiest thing to say would be: `It's about cannibalism in a remote Army outpost in the 1800s.' That's exactly right, and that's probably what kept audience members away from Ravenous when it briefly ran in theaters back in 1999. Cannibalism? Who needs to watch that? Indeed.

Yes, there is cannibalism in Ravenous. Quite a lot of it, in fact. The film is steeped in murder, the eating of human flesh, and is flavored with madness. At times the film can be downright difficult to watch, though the compelling nature of the narrative keeps the viewer's eyes locked on the screen for the full ninety-eight minutes.

Ravenous is so much more than a meditation on people eating other people, though it's obvious there was a great deal of confusion about how exactly to present this dish to the public. Its plot is fairly simple for the first half: Mexican War hero (and hidden coward) Lt. Boyd, played by LA Confidential's Guy Pearce, is assigned to an end-of-the-Earth fortress in the western Sierra Nevadas. This fort, populated over the winter by a tiny handful of misfit officers and enlisted men, receives a visitor in the person of a starving man with an awful story of a failed mountain crossing that eclipses the Donner Party's. What happens then is so twisted, but skillfully crafted, that it would be criminal to spoil what transpires.

But Ravenous is not just a horror story. What lies at its heart is an allegory about man's relationship to other men and how society structures itself around the powerful and the powerless. Issues such as the morality of Manifest Destiny and even the ethics of simple meat eating are touched upon. Guy Pearce gives an underplayed performance so low-key that he almost vanishes into the film stock, while co-star Robert Carlyle (most recently in The World is Not Enough) plays opposite him with delightful nuance. The material even brings deeply textured work out of Tim Burton stalwart Jeffrey Jones as the commander of the fort, and scattered around these three are solid supporting actors like Jeremy Davies, who's much better here than he was in Saving Private Ryan, and David Arquette.

If anything works against Ravenous at all, it's the curious inclusion of humor at the outset of the picture. Director Antonia Bird, who also made Priest and Safe, is not known for her lighter side, which makes the appearance of a goofy epigram at the very start of the picture, and the use of some bizarrely inappropriate music during a later sequence, seem more like some producer's half-hearted attempt to blunt the sharp edge of the film's commentary with silliness.

Luckily for the viewer and the film, however, Ravenous is far too powerful a motion picture to be undercut in this fashion. By the time the final reel has passed, any memory of earlier missteps is forgotten as the pace grows more deliberate and the action becomes bloodier and bloodier up until the final moments.

Unjustly neglected on the screen, Ravenous is a film with a great deal to say. It's only too bad that cannibalism was the best way to say it.

Guy Pearce leads Jeffrey Jones, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette and more in a action-filled, horror thriller. Set during the backdrop of the Civil War, it follows Capt. John Boyd (Pearce) who is sent to the icy Nevada wilderness as result of cowardice. The music is awesome, the costumes are wounderfully designed and the elements of horror make this film one to see many times! The art direction is great and the story is what horror fans have been waiting for. Just like how the cover says, a cross between a vampire film and a cannibalism film. Those two put together create one of the most elaborate horror films ever.

I promise you that RAVENOUS will enthrall you until the very final frame. Hell, even the credits are exciting. The violence is pretty extreme (which is good) and the gloomy atmosphere and the icy bitterness of the Nevada Mountains is very good at creating a genuinely chilling mood for this awesome horror thriller! RAVENOUS: 5/5.

A genuinely unique little gem that seems quite un-Hollywoody.

A macabrely humorous horror-thriller with an odd mix of English/American/Australian character actors (all talented) who clearly relish their performances in this twisted little tale which is told on an epic canvas.

The film's score is a bizarre but perfect fit - adding another unusual character to the mix. A stroke of bold genius by Michael Nyman (the brilliant composer of "The Piano"). The score has been nominated for several awards.

Hard to imagine 20th Century Fox's reaction when they saw the final film and needed to market it... But there's plenty to enjoy here. 8 out of 10!