How far would you go to be eternally youthful? If you're Miriam (Catherine Deneuve), you turn men and women into vampires and keep them encased in crypts once they start to deteriorate and look like death. She and her current lover (David Bowie) are looking for a cure to his rapid aging symptoms and they meet a doctor (played by Susan Sarandon) who might just be able to help. But will she be drawn into Miriam's seductive web herself?
As directed by Tony Scott, The Hunger is a triumph of style over substance. It mostly feels like a first draft script that has, somehow, been elevated by Scott's inventive staging, gorgeous photography, and the chemistry between the main trio of actors.
The Hunger isn't the kind of movie you watch for gripping dialogue or mind bending plot twists. It's a simple story, well told and well shot. Deneuve drenches the screen in her charisma throughout in a role that doesn't require her to say much, so it's an even greater feat that she's able to tell the audience everything they need to know from her body language and facial expressions. Sarandon gets the most full character in the film and she handles it with her typical professionalism even if she seems to be under the spell of a bad haircut. Still, The Hunger is, more or less, Bowie's film for the first 30 minutes or so and he's the one we identify with the most. He's been both blessed and cursed with eternal life, but a failing body. Bowie captures this terror beautifully and his is the character we think most about when the film comes to an end.
Even if you're not traditionally a big vampire movie fan, The Hunger might just satisfy your thirst for a well made, intriguing horror film.
As directed by Tony Scott, The Hunger is a triumph of style over substance. It mostly feels like a first draft script that has, somehow, been elevated by Scott's inventive staging, gorgeous photography, and the chemistry between the main trio of actors.
The Hunger isn't the kind of movie you watch for gripping dialogue or mind bending plot twists. It's a simple story, well told and well shot. Deneuve drenches the screen in her charisma throughout in a role that doesn't require her to say much, so it's an even greater feat that she's able to tell the audience everything they need to know from her body language and facial expressions. Sarandon gets the most full character in the film and she handles it with her typical professionalism even if she seems to be under the spell of a bad haircut. Still, The Hunger is, more or less, Bowie's film for the first 30 minutes or so and he's the one we identify with the most. He's been both blessed and cursed with eternal life, but a failing body. Bowie captures this terror beautifully and his is the character we think most about when the film comes to an end.
Even if you're not traditionally a big vampire movie fan, The Hunger might just satisfy your thirst for a well made, intriguing horror film.