The Hunger (1983)

Plot Summary: An immortal Egyptian vampire princess and her centuries-old lover seek out a brilliant aging researcher when he suddenly begins rapidly aging.

Director: Tony Scott
Producer: Richard Shepherd
Screenplay: Ivan Davis, Michael Thomas

Starring:
Catherine Deneuve as Miriam Blaylock
David Bowie as John Blaylock
Susan Sarandon as Dr. Sarah Roberts
Cliff DeYoung as Tom Haver
Beth Ehlers as Alice Cavender

Music: Michel Rubini, Denny Jaeger
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Editing: Pamela Power

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⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

Style, Aesthetics and a Hypnotic Atmosphere

Third movie from our Vampire week and we still didn't get to see any fangs. The vampires from this movie are the total opposite of the previous movie we watched - "Near Dark". These vampires take showers and play classical music in their opulently decorated mansions. That made Krasnaya really happy and I was playing air violin to tease her while we watched it. I thought that this movie was a little artsy fartsy sometimes, just like the goth-friendly Bowie. 😛 The movie is filled with beautiful shots done through an excessively thoroughly planned and expensive-looking camera framework.  

"The Hunger". Oh my goodness, that was a delight to my eyes and ears! This is aesthetics in its purest form. The film is unusually sensual, sometimes explicit, but invariably beautiful and very atmospheric. From the first minute, it fascinated me with its unique hypnotic atmosphere and style. It hypnotized me in the prologue, where, accompanied by the jaunty music of "Bauhaus", the picture is rushing with chaotic shots - eyes, glasses, lips, smoke, monkeys tearing each other apart.  After, the plot flows like water, fluttering like silk curtains in the wind, like the Schubert trio on the soundtrack. Therefore, the flowliness of the picture is a huge plus. I just wanted to catch every movement, capture every look and consider every detail.

Pace, Characters and Provocative Scenes

(eye roll) I didn't like the pace of the movie that much; sometimes it was a bit slow and my ADHD would kick in. What really impressed me in the movie was the make-up and special effects. Dick Smith did an amazing job with the aging process of David Bowie's character and all the rotting carcasses. It was interesting to follow the realistic quick decay of John Blaylock (David Bowie). The moment of John's uncontrollable hunger was my favorite moment. Music was fine, it was sinister when it had to be. Bauhaus and its Bella Lugosi's Dead, I don't care. The classical pieces, well, are classical pieces. Not impressed. The sound effects were too annoying sometimes.

Conservatives beware, the movie has some provocative erotic lesbian scenes that quickly turn into murder. I enjoyed the nipple licking and I was thinking that this wasn't the first time I had seen Susan Sardon's breasts. Where have I seen them before? Can you help me, dear reader? You got that right; the blue writing of this review is done by a monkey man... 🐒 

The actors are also chosen to be deeply aesthetic - the freak David Bowie and the beautiful Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. Catherine Deneuve (Miriam) perfectly embodied the image of a cold aristocratic vampire, desperately afraid of being alone, who, century after century, finds companions who will save her from her fears. David Bowie (John), in that short period of time, amazingly played a man who is afraid of old age, who clings to his life. Susan Sarandon (Sarah Roberts) with short ginger hair - the real embodiment of the rebel and revolutionary in science and, of course, in this story.  

The Ending, Philosophy and Final Verdict

I was left wondering about what happened in the end. I found it confusing the way Susan's and Catherine Deneuve's last scene together was shot. I woke up with the answer to my wondering. This was my first thought in the morning - "So, if you killed yourself, you would kill the original head vampire and in turn revive yourself and replace it as the true immortal. That's why Miriam said that she couldn't kill John". This is it, right? (Mooooooonkey man! 🐒) This is odd, and I have come to the conclusion that these people aren't from Romania; they are not related to Vlad. We are dealing here with alien Egyptian deities who like the ADRENOCHROME.

For me, "The Hunger" is a psychological drama with philosophical overtones, which touches upon the eternal questions of life and death, that there is nothing eternal in the world and promising eternal love - we lie, knowing, in advance, that this is impossible. Tony Scott is a talented visualizer who made an almost elitist film. If you like Jim Jarmusch's "Only Lovers Left Alive" (my all-time favorite vampire movie), then you'll love "The Hunger" too.  

So deep Krasnaya. 😢 You have the goth in you. I have to say that I prefer Only Lovers Left Alive a million times; it's less posh. This is a good movie, nevertheless, with unconventional vampires. You aren't a true goth if you haven't watched it. ❤ I'm looking at you, Margarida.

Freddy's Score

65/100

Krasnaya's Score

90/100

FINAL SCORE

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