Les affamés

I really liked this film. Its a very different take on the genre, with the emphasis on the need to be quiet to avoid attracting the zombies. Its a slow burn, but I think that helps build the tension, and it relies more on that than shock scares. The gore is minimal, but effective when used. It suggests there is more to the Zombies than just mindless eaters, but it doesn't really answer what. So it has a bit more brains in it (pun intended...) but is a good addition to the genre. Unlike many of the other Zombie films I've seen, most of which are over padded shorts.

I really wanted to like this. I was highly anticipating it, and it looked absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, while the score is very appropriate and the cinematography is beautiful, there's no other reason to watch this. There's no plot. No character development. There no reasoning for anything they do or for what happens. There is a lot of silence, standing around, and making bad choices, though.

Honestly, a huge disappointment for me.

This one went straight under my radar and I simply hadn't heard of it, had it not been for a recommendation I may not have come across it at all.

A multi award winning French Canadian effort this could be compared to the 28 Days Later (2002) franchise. In that our antagonists are not zombies but arguably just feral people.

I was struck by the creators choice to have the movie filmed in French. Canadian movies rarely are and it seems like a baffling choice, surely they know that English would have made it more accesible and how many people do not like subtitles.

Thankfully I'm not one of them so despite this weird choice I gave it a go and was left rather undecided.

Without a doubt The Ravenous is a pretty film, the cinematography is fantastic as is the score that goes with it. It tells your usual story of a group of survivors doing everything they can to stay alive during this outbreak and the characters are interesting enough.

Sadly it comes across really rather dull. I didn't expect nor want wall to wall action, that's not the issue. The issue is it just comes across quite lifeless, almost like creators knew how to make a visually impressive film but didn't know how to tell a story.

The Ravenous isn't bad, it's just underwhelming and despite it's multiple award wins I think it's still a title that will only appeal to a certain type of moviegoer.

With its junior Walter White lead and unexplained confusing plot points this failed to impress.

The Good:

Beautifully shot

Well scored

The Bad:

Frustratingly dark in places

Leaves a tad too much to the imagination

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Musical instruments should be a no.1 priority during the apocalypse

I feel this movie could fade away into the myriad of zombie images if I were not to write a passage down about it. It plays out something like an episode of The Walking Dead season IV where they're on the road again. It's altogether quite serious, and yet it has some slapstick dark comedy thrown in at unexpected moments. In its quiet, subtle way, it leaves some of the most haunting, ghostly imagery imprinted on the mind, something like of a recurring dream. As in The Cured (2017), it hints at maybe a sort of pack mentality or unconscious motive shared by the zombie horde. Is there a celestial theme also suggested by the strange furniture shrines erected? Maybe the best aspect of this movie are the unanswered questions, allowing us to vicariously live the anxiety of the protagonists.

In a genre infected by too many bad to ueber-bad productions, Les affamés aka Ravenous is a solid entry - the execution is good enough, we get even a little gore here and there. No doubt, Les affamés aka Ravenous is no masterclass but a little snack-in-between for the lover of the zombie-apocalypse with infected crazies in that fast running way a la 28 Weeks Later.