Ravenous (1999) Review
May 21st 2010 02:41
Cannibalism, has there ever been a more disgusting, yet appealing plot for a horror film? It's such a taboo subject it's almost guaranteed to get an audience squirming in disgust. From the despicable Hannibal Lecter, to the unfortunate documentarians of “Cannibal Holocaust” Hollywood has had a mixed relationship with this particular social taboo. The majority of the time, cannibalism plays a part in nightmarish horror/crime films or unintentionally hilarious grind house
films. It's certainly hard to stand out in this crowd, but today's movie, “Ravenous” is a bizarre movie in no matter what crowd it's in.
“Ravenous” is the story of US army officer Jon Boyd, who fearing death cowardly played dead during a battle in the Mexican-American war. He found himself in a pile of dead soldiers behind enemy lines, and due to an unexplained burst of courage and energy, takes the Mexican command post. Knowing that Boyd wasn't really a hero, his superior officer punishes him by sending him to a remote mountain fort, populated by stoners, drunks, rejects and crazies who were likely assigned there to get them out of the way, similar to Boyd himself. Wintering in the distant mountain outpost isolated from support, the group rescues a frostbitten traveler who tells them a grisly story of survival and cannibalism. To give away any more would ruin plenty of well timed surprises so let's just say that by the end of this movie everyone at that fort winds up on the buffet, or standing in line with a plate.
As much as the film turns your stomach, it's dark sense of humor will have you laughing uncomfortably during what should be the movie's most tense moments. Often what your seeing is so absurd, disgusting, and believable you can't help but chuckle. The film's bizarre soundtrack is a mix of bluegrass, jazz and Native American chants, (I'm not joking) courtesy of “Foster's Social Orchestra” an experimental musical group. This soundtrack is odd, unsettling and surprisingly catchy, perfectly setting the mood for the grandiose horror of the film.
“Ravenous” was plagued by trouble during production, budget cutbacks meant many grisly scenes had to be done on a shoestring budget, and the stress of this may have played a factor in the film's first director Milcho Manchevski being fired or quitting (it's not clear which) two weeks into production and being replaced by a less
experienced but apparently talented Antonia Bird, who took the film in it's current direction. One of the most difficult scenes to film was main man Boyd being forced to eat a soup made from a friend of his by the evil cannibals. While the soup was actually a lamb stew made by the production's caterer (other actors in the scene said it was delicious) Guy Pearce is a vegetarian, and much of the disgust and reluctance on his face was real as he pretended to eat, admitting he spat it out after every take. The director had honest trouble getting a shot where Pearce had the meat all the way in his mouth, meaning the poor guy had to do the shot again and again, almost retching each time. Is anyone else seeing the irony in a vegetarian playing the hero in a movie about cannibalism?
While I love this movie, with all the love that a man can only have about eating people, I can see why many people don't like it. It's a strange movie, that defies categorization, and requires someone with a taste for the weird to enjoy it. The line with this movie is sharp as a knife, either you adore it, or your can't stand it. Reavenous doesn't have the typical Cult following, some people love it and can watch it ten times, but it doesn't have that insider feel that makes people who like it feel like a brotherhood. It's really just one of those movie's you'll always see in a big bin of five dollar DVD's at wall mart, ingenious, but totally forgotten by mainstream movie addicts and film critics alike. Regardless of whether you wind up loving it or hating it, you still would be missing a lot if you passed up this freakish bit of film history. Bon Appetit!
At one point, production was halted becuase they ran out of fake blood . . .yeah
“Ravenous” was plagued by trouble during production, budget cutbacks meant many grisly scenes had to be done on a shoestring budget, and the stress of this may have played a factor in the film's first director Milcho Manchevski being fired or quitting (it's not clear which) two weeks into production and being replaced by a less
Who wants dark meat?
While I love this movie, with all the love that a man can only have about eating people, I can see why many people don't like it. It's a strange movie, that defies categorization, and requires someone with a taste for the weird to enjoy it. The line with this movie is sharp as a knife, either you adore it, or your can't stand it. Reavenous doesn't have the typical Cult following, some people love it and can watch it ten times, but it doesn't have that insider feel that makes people who like it feel like a brotherhood. It's really just one of those movie's you'll always see in a big bin of five dollar DVD's at wall mart, ingenious, but totally forgotten by mainstream movie addicts and film critics alike. Regardless of whether you wind up loving it or hating it, you still would be missing a lot if you passed up this freakish bit of film history. Bon Appetit!
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