Many films worthy of praise and attention are ignored and forgotten simply for being made before their time. But the greatest tragedy happens to films that were made shortly before their time. Ravenous, 1999 horror film directed by Antonia Bird, belongs to that category.
Plot begins in 1847 during Mexican-American War. US Army Captain John Boyd (played by Guy Pearce) has received promotion for single-handedly defeating the large number of Mexican soldiers during the battle. His superior General Slauson (played by John Spencer) suspects that the real motive for such action was cowardice rather than bravery. He dispatches Boyd to Fort Spencer, isolated military outpost on the mountainous border between California and Nevada. Nobody in the miniature garrison, including its commander Colonel Hart (played by Jeffrey Jones), takes their military duties very seriously. Soldiers spend most of their time by reading Bible, drinking, taking drugs or engaging in extreme sports. This boring yet idyllic life is going to be shattered with an arrival of F.W. Colqhoun (played by Robert Carlyle), a man who tells a gruesome tale about the fate of his band of settlers. Stuck in the mountains during the winter, they resorted to cannibalism. Colonel Hart reluctantly agrees to investigate and possibly rescue more survivors. When the expedition arrives on site, their members would experience the most unpleasant surprise.
Most horror films from today's Hollywood are original only in their basic concepts. Ted Griffin's script for Ravenous, on the other hand, uses rather simple and not particularly original concept and gives it a new meaning by putting it in the rarely used geographical and historic setting. The horror in this film comes not from the actual carnage - which is rather explicit and gory for Hollywood standards - but also from one of the most basic fears the genre always thrived on - the fear of irrational. Early 19th Century American West didn't witness only the conflict between civilisation and nature, but also the conflict between human rationality and more primordial human instincts. Cannibalism - breaking of one of society's most ancient taboos - is represented as the victory of the primordial over the rational forces within the man. Civilisation and technology seem powerless when confronted with those formidable desires. The characters in this film aren't fighting the inhuman monster - they are fighting the frightening version of themselves. Griffin uses the setting, some historical anecdotes and American Indian legends to paint very effective and disturbing picture. But the greatest thing in Griffin's script is author's ability to use cannibalism not only as the source of horror, but also as an inspiration for black humour.
Antonia Bird, self-confessed vegetarian, was very good choice for the director. She has gathered experienced and very effective cast and has put Slovakian mountain locations to good use. The actors are great, especially Robert Carlyle who chews scenery, although his reputation for playing psychopathic characters hurts this film by hinting at "surprise" twist. Jeffrey Jones is also good in the role of cynical commander. On the other hand, Guy Pearce is somewhat bland in the role of a flawed hero. But the greatest asset of this film is in the music. Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn have written an unusual and haunting score that creates surreal atmosphere and allows Griffin's dark humour to work even during the gory and disturbing scenes. Just like in many potentially great films, the ending seems rushed and not particularly inspired, thus preventing Ravenous to become a classic.
The greatest misfortune of Ravenous was in poor timing. In the film, the cannibalistic monster not only gains superhuman powers by eating people but also develops insatiable appetite that leads him to devour anything around itself. Its actions, in a way, resemble certain historical events that are happening in the background – colonisation of American West and war between USA and Mexico. Just like the monster, new country has gained enormous wealth and power by devouring other peoples and other territories. If released today instead of five years ago, this film could have been immensely successful due to world opinion that shares the filmmakers' assessment of the world's only superpower.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on October 19th 2004)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10212-ravenous
Critic: AA
I've seen this movie some months ago. The cannibal in this movie gave me even more shivers than Dr Lecter. Nice acting and camerawork, too.
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