The Hunger

1983 "Nothing human loves forever."
6.6| 1h36m| R| en| More Info
Released: 29 April 1983 Released
Producted By: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Five-thousand-year-old vampire Miriam promises her lovers the gift of eternal life. When John, her cellist companion for centuries, discovers that he has suddenly begun growing old, he attempts to seek out the help of Dr. Sarah Roberts, a researcher on the mechanisms of aging.

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sllaw_hguorht My buddy came over the other night and we watched like a real movie, but then it was late and the busses had stopped running and we had to find something to do until like 5am when they started running again. So he found this movie and was like "Hey lets watch this s--t" and I was all, "Ok, but it's pretty much just like a two hour music video," which is how I remembered it being, and then we watched it and I totally stand by that evaluation. Also, the last time I watched this movie I had to turn it off because the person I watched it with had a seeing-blood-thing, and oh man do you see some blood in this movie. Jesus. Also you have to look at David Bowie in old man makeup for way too long. And not just like, a two hour music video, but a two hour *early eighties* music video. Like, you know those music videos where it just feels like it's a fashion shoot, but instead of taking pictures they just film some woman in an empty room wearing something weird with like sheets blowing in the background? Like that. But like a movie. Also monkeys screaming over and over and over.
BA_Harrison The Hunger starts off as a bad '80s music video for post-punk band Bauhaus, who perform their song Bela Lugosi's Dead in a nightclub amidst lots of blue light and smoke, after which director Tony Scott settles for a soporific avant garde/art-house style to tell his dreary story of a vampire, Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve), whose lovers eventually succumb to rapid ageing and death, despite her promise of eternal youth. David Bowie plays John, the latest of Miriam's partners to grow old and die before her eyes, and Susan Sarandon is doctor Sarah Roberts, who finds herself with a hunger for blood after a lesbian fling with the vampire.Repetitive intercutting of scenes, lots of billowing curtains, people smoking cigarettes, more fluttering pigeons/doves than a John Woo film, and classical music: chic and stylish is what Scott is clearly aiming for; boring and pretentious is what he delivers.A pitiful 1/10, despite Deneuve and Sarandon's sexy scene, and some excellent old-age make-up by industry legend Dick Smith.
gavin6942 Miriam, a centuries-old vampire, preys on urban clubgoers with her vampire lover John. When John suddenly ages and wastes away, Miriam casts her spell upon Sarah, a doctor who researches premature aging.I figured with Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, this had to be a home run. Deneuve is an incredible actress, and Bowie has had some impressive roles. And usually very quirky ones: alien, goblin king, Andy Warhol. But we did not get much of him here.I don't know if this was just trying to be too mainstream or what, but it was not what I was looking for, and was not super excited about it. In fact, I found it rather challenging to pay attention, which is no compliment.
Dalbert Pringle Hey! Like, what in the name of Count Chocula is going on here!?...... Why is it that modern-day movie-vampires are such messy buggers?? They are. When it comes to their favourite drink, Blood-Thick Slurpees, they splatter and spill the stuff around, all over the place, like it was going out of style.Take The Blaylocks (that's the oh-so-refined Bowie/Deneuve vampire team), for example, they get more blood on the walls and on the floor than they ever do in their mouths. I'm not kidding. And half the time they can't even get it into their own mouths at all. Most of it ends up dribbling down their chins and onto the fronts of their very fashionable frocks. (tsk. tsk) I'm tellin' ya - Vogue magazine would never approve of this. Never.The Blaylocks are total mess-cats when it comes to cadaver snacks and full-meal-deals. And not only that, but they are unbelievably reckless and, yes, stupid, too. When these ultra-chic bloodsuckers are finished with their feed for the night they actually haul the torn and chewed up scraps of their dinner down to their cellar and (get this) burn it up in their very own incinerator.I don't know about you, but I'd say that this is none too bright. After all their trendy townhouse is situated right in the centre of a New York City neighbourhood. And unless the locals there have all lost their ability to smell, the stench and smoke caused by the burning of flesh, surely must have 1 or 2 folks around the hood wondering about The Blaylocks' barbecue specials. But the strange thing is, no one ever complains, or anything. I don't get it.In the good, ol' days of movie-vampires (pre-1950's) The Count, Nosferatu and all their assorted cronies always seemed to be so careful whenever they drained a victim of their life-blood. It's true. You rarely ever saw even a trickle of blood run down a vampire's chin or drip from their victim's neck wound. It seemed back in Hollywood's hey-day that these movie-vampires meant business and sucked the body dry. Yeah,'Good To The Last Drop' was their motto, I'm sure. Everything was so clean and easy back then.But these hip-cat movie-vampires of today let the blood fly everywhere, making big, bloody messes from one end of their fashionable condo to the other. What in the world are vampires coming to? And not only that, but Miriam (Mrs. Blaylock) has a neurotic habit of not letting go of her previous lovers. So, whenever she moves from place to place she, literally, lugs around a dozen god-damn coffins that contain the remains of these dried-up deceived ones who she had promised 'forever' to. If a pile of coffins isn't the sort of thing that will draw attention and suspicion to this particular vampire's undead activities, I don't know what will.But Miriam is also big on betrayal and even before her present lover has actually set foot inside his own box she's out shopping for a replacement. She likes to pretend that this isn't so, but she's no fool and, besides, she is utterly repulsed by the touch of old, wrinkled flesh. Who isn't, baby?I have to give Miriam credit for her latest choice for a lover. Sarah (Sarandon) is actually kind of hot, (as opposed to the scrawny Bowie) but on top of that she really seems to have a brain in her head. At present Sarah's working at a clinic and researching the connection between sleep and ageing. This could well prove to be worthwhile research. And I suspect this is one of the reasons why Miriam chose Sarah. Miriam, I'm sure, has very strong desires to slow down her own ageing even more. And maybe Sarah's knowledge is the key to an answer.But as vampire-lovers these two high-fashion females are doomed. Domination is their downfall. One must rule. One must die. Who that is to be all comes down to the one with the more cunning mind. Who that turns out to be will certainly be of no surprise to anyone, I'm sure.Anyways - From a visual point of view 'The Hunger' is a very impressive film to look at and admire. Lots of moody lighting and stylish sets give it an above average look for a mere vampire flick. Director, Tony Scott (Ridley's brother), does a fine job of setting a even pace in the film's story line. And the gore will satisfy any fan of horror movies, in particular the final confrontation between Miriam and all her long-dead and dehydrated lovers. This girl certainly wasn't idle for a minute. And now the mummified lovers are all coming back to 'thank' her for her loyalty. (Tee-Hee)