Sometimes, a Horror movie is too effective. Sometimes, a Horror move is so frightening that it practically has to disavow what it is. Sometimes, a Horror movie is so over-the-top, yet so expertly made - that the filmmakers will sometimes pretend to have been going for something else. In 1999, just such a film came out. A film that was so effective in portraying its grotesque subject matter that some involved with its making began to pretend they were going for Black Comedy - that the film was not really meant to be taken seriously. It was meant to be a romp, they claimed. One taste of the tone of the film makes it clear that the movie was clearly a Horror film. A movie clearly meant to disgust and frighten.
And it did. A little too well…
That film was Antonia Bird’s RAVENOUS.
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Set during the Mexican American War, Guy Pearce plays John Boyd, an army captain who is exiled to a remote fort for cowardice. There, he and his fellow soldiers encounter Calqhoun (Robert Carlyle), a disheveled, filthy man who has a horrific tale to tell. Calqhoun says he is the lone survivor of a wagon train that became stranded in the Sierra Nevadas due to bad advice from a man named Colonel Ives. There, the wagon train members had to turn to cannibalism to survive. Leading Boyd and others from the fort to the cave where the cannibalism took place, it becomes clear that Calqhoun is, in fact, Ives himself and he has lured the soldiers into a trap. Boyd escapes the slaughter and returns to the fort only to have no one believe his tale. Later, to his horror, the new commanding officer arrives; a man named Colonel Ives - Calqhoun himself. Ives intends to convert others into his cannibalistic “coven” and devour the rest - and it is up to Boyd to stop him.
RAVENOUS boasts excellent performances by all involved. In addition to Pearce and Carlyle, the cast is rounded out by Jeremy Davies, Jeffery Jones, and David Arquette. The film is a treat on the eyes, as well. The locations are gloomy and oppressively bleak, the costume design is first-rate, and the make-up effects are at times, truly gruesome. The film’s sound is excellent as well. Composer Michael Nyman contributes a jarringly unconventional score, and the sound designers obviously enjoyed making even the surrounding forest sound like a beast feeding on its prey. Director Antonia Bird held nothing back in this film’s production. The result is a film that achieves its Horror in a genuinely intriguing and original way.
RAVENOUS is not a film for everyone. It is a disturbing and often disgusting story. It is a film that recognizes just how thin the line between survival and monstrosity can be. At the same time, however, it accomplishes its shocks and chills while taking a totally fresh and non-traditional approach. This might be why it failed to find an audience on its release. Even today, while fondly remembered by Horror fans, it does not enjoy the ‘cult’ status that many misunderstood films do. It’s a shame really, because at a time where the lack of originality is decried in the film world, RAVENOUS was and still is a Horror film unlike any other. It is worth a look - if you have the stomach!
Parental Guide: Mature audiences only!!
RAVENOUS fun facts -
While filming the final fight at the climax of the film, the production ran out of fake blood.
This was the last film appearance for veteran actor John Spencer, preferring after this film to concentrate on television.
The unusual sound of the score was achieved by having artists with no background in music perform the soundtrack. The group is called Foster’s Social Orchestra and it was founded by film composer Michael Nyman.
Antonia Bird was brought in to replace the original director after only three weeks of shooting. She was hired on the recommendation of Robert Carlyle.
Pvt. Toffler - “He was LICKING me!!”
Ives - “It‘s not courage to resist me, Boyd. It‘s courage to accept me.”
Ives - “You remember this? You smell it? The scent... Always jogs the memory, don‘t you think? Remember the energy? The potency of someone else coursing through your veins? Someone brave. You know the disappointment as it dissipates. The strength slipping from your grasp. The growing, killing need to replenish. But I don‘t have to remind you of that. You‘re feeling it right now…”