Ravenous (1999)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"If you die first, I am definitely going to eat you, but the question is, if I die, what are you going to do? Bon appétit... Eat or die."</i> Captain John Boyd's promotion stations him at a fort where a rescued man tells a disturbing tale of cannibalism.… More
  <i>"If you die first, I am definitely going to eat you, but the question is, if I die, what are you going to do? Bon appétit... Eat or die."</i> Captain John Boyd's promotion stations him at a fort where a rescued man tells a disturbing tale of cannibalism. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce) has just arrived at Fort Spencer, a "reward" of sorts for his display of cowardice during the Spanish-American war. The fort is manned by a drunk, a pothead, a Native American woman and her brother, a goofy young chaplain, a nonchalant Colonel and a half-crazed soldier named Reich. Shortly after Boyd's arrival, a frostbitten man appears one night out of the snowstorm and is taken in. After a quick and miraculous recovery, the man, a Scotsman name of Colqhoun, tells a harrowing tale. He and a party of five others had been stranded in a snow storm and took refuge in a cave. When their food ran out, they turned to cannibalism. Colquhoun claims to have escaped before he too could be eaten. The men of Fort Spencer quickly mobilize and, guided by Colqhoun, they head off to search for survivors. But, too late, they discover that there are no survivors. Colqhoun is a ravenous cannibal, and may possibly be a mythical beast called Wendigo. Only the cowardly Boyd survives the bloody ambush...but will he conquer the cannibal, or join him? This is a bitterly black comedy, a weird combination of the Donner Party tragedy, the legend of Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean and the 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead with its comments on consumerism. This film did poorly at the box office due to bad advertising, which is a shame because it's a very well made, well acted and well scripted movie with a cleverly insane soundtrack to boot. Everyone delivers quirky, standout performances, especially Robert Carlyle as the cannibal, playing him as an unhinged Charles Manson type one moment and a cultured, elegant gentleman the next. His performance is totally riveting and shockingly funny at times. The humor in this movie will not be to everyone's taste (no pun intended). It is still a movie about cannibalism and features some bloody, gross-out gore, so be warned. But, if you have a strong stomach and a sick sense of humor, you won't want to miss this film.

• Conner R

  
  A completely psychotic take on the windigo story. The cannibal aspect was really interesting and made the story all the more creepy. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle were great, especially their scenes together. The music was really different, but went well with the tone of the film.

• Luke B

  
  Bizarre in it's tone and execution, Ravenous is either an original gem or an interesting mess. I really think my love of B-Movies helped me appreciate some of the stranger aspects of this film. Most obvious is the music, it's not exactly horror or thriller material, but with… More
  Bizarre in it's tone and execution, Ravenous is either an original gem or an interesting mess. I really think my love of B-Movies helped me appreciate some of the stranger aspects of this film. Most obvious is the music, it's not exactly horror or thriller material, but with an odd subject such as cannibalism it kind of suits the tone. Pearce and Carlyle are fantastic, grasping hold of their broken distorted characters and engaging in a wide range of tactics to both pull you in and then push you away. The twists aren't impossible to see coming, but they are well placed and enjoyable to watch unfold. It's a film I'd only recommend to people that enjoy "different" cinema.

• Lady D

  
  I?d like to be able to say after you bear with the frustratingly dull first hour, it then goes on to become a great film, when in fact it does lift slightly, but only in comparison to the first part. The oddly placed humour can often go amiss, but then there are laughable moments… More
  I?d like to be able to say after you bear with the frustratingly dull first hour, it then goes on to become a great film, when in fact it does lift slightly, but only in comparison to the first part. The oddly placed humour can often go amiss, but then there are laughable moments when there shouldn't be.

• Curtis L

  
  A movie about humans showing vampire and zombie qualities. They can eat people and it heals them and makes them strong. Good cast and fun, while being pretty gross. I especially liked the Guy Pearce/Robert Carlyle bear trap sandwich at the end.

• Aaron N

  
  Knox: What are you cooking? Ives: It's, uh... stew. Knox: Need any help? Ives: No, no, no. Perhaps later you might... contribute. Very interesting and entertaining black comedy/ horror film about cannibalism, set during the 1840s. It involves a soldier, Guy Pearce, outcasted… More
  Knox: What are you cooking? Ives: It's, uh... stew. Knox: Need any help? Ives: No, no, no. Perhaps later you might... contribute. Very interesting and entertaining black comedy/ horror film about cannibalism, set during the 1840s. It involves a soldier, Guy Pearce, outcasted into the Sierra Nevadas, after a sordid affair during battle. Upon arriving at the fort and meeting the people there, a mysterious man, Robert Carlyle, arrives one night, informing people of a gruesome story resulting in the eating of some unsavory meats. Not before long, a few twists occur, revealing the full details of his story. This is the perfect kind of cult movie. It has quirky characters, a strange soundtrack and all sorts of weird things going on. The supporting cast is fun and there is a lot of gore, but the idea of having a dark comedy aspect to this somber story makes it so much more intriguing. Its the perfect kind of movie to stumble upon on DVD. It was obviously a hard sell for theaters; a period piece about cannibalism with no love story, but it can easily find an audience for those seeking out something more unique. Pvt. Toffler: He was licking me!

• Al S

  
  A thrilling and chilling adventure. Spellbinding, stylish and heart-pounding. Twistedly original and brilliant. Shocking and exhilerating. A unique horror story that mixes action, suspense and reality. Lots of gore and energy. A well-crafted and provocative film. It creeps under your… More
  A thrilling and chilling adventure. Spellbinding, stylish and heart-pounding. Twistedly original and brilliant. Shocking and exhilerating. A unique horror story that mixes action, suspense and reality. Lots of gore and energy. A well-crafted and provocative film. It creeps under your skin like you wouldnt belive. Terifying, darkly funny and endlessly gripping. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle give riveting performances. Their characters are so complex and tormented. But all works out into one leathal, intense and bloody showdown at the end.

• Jason S

  
  I like it but I thought most of the music was terrible for this movie. It seemed way out of place and distracted me from what was going on. It was an interesting story and the character that was played by Guy Pearce was well done. On the same note I thought Robert Carlyle played an… More
  I like it but I thought most of the music was terrible for this movie. It seemed way out of place and distracted me from what was going on. It was an interesting story and the character that was played by Guy Pearce was well done. On the same note I thought Robert Carlyle played an excellent villain in the movie and I would think his performance would be on a top villain list somewhere.

• Cassandra M

  
  If someone were to ask what Ravenous is all about, the easiest thing to say would be: `It's about cannibalism in a remote Army outpost in the 1800s.' That's exactly right, and that's probably what kept audience members away from Ravenous when it briefly ran in… More
  If someone were to ask what Ravenous is all about, the easiest thing to say would be: `It's about cannibalism in a remote Army outpost in the 1800s.' That's exactly right, and that's probably what kept audience members away from Ravenous when it briefly ran in theaters back in 1999. Cannibalism? Who needs to watch that? Indeed. Yes, there is cannibalism in Ravenous. Quite a lot of it, in fact. The film is steeped in murder, the eating of human flesh, and is flavored with madness. At times the film can be downright difficult to watch, though the compelling nature of the narrative keeps the viewer's eyes locked on the screen for the full ninety-eight minutes. Ravenous is so much more than a meditation on people eating other people, though it's obvious there was a great deal of confusion about how exactly to present this dish to the public. Its plot is fairly simple for the first half: Mexican War hero (and hidden coward) Lt. Boyd, played by LA Confidential's Guy Pearce, is assigned to an end-of-the-Earth fortress in the western Sierra Nevadas. This fort, populated over the winter by a tiny handful of misfit officers and enlisted men, receives a visitor in the person of a starving man with an awful story of a failed mountain crossing that eclipses the Donner Party's. What happens then is so twisted, but skillfully crafted, that it would be criminal to spoil what transpires. But Ravenous is not just a horror story. What lies at its heart is an allegory about man's relationship to other men and how society structures itself around the powerful and the powerless. Issues such as the morality of Manifest Destiny and even the ethics of simple meat eating are touched upon. Guy Pearce gives an underplayed performance so low-key that he almost vanishes into the film stock, while co-star Robert Carlyle (most recently in The World is Not Enough) plays opposite him with delightful nuance. The material even brings deeply textured work out of Tim Burton stalwart Jeffrey Jones as the commander of the fort, and scattered around these three are solid supporting actors like Jeremy Davies, who's much better here than he was in Saving Private Ryan, and David Arquette. If anything works against Ravenous at all, it's the curious inclusion of humor at the outset of the picture. Director Antonia Bird, who also made Priest and Safe, is not known for her lighter side, which makes the appearance of a goofy epigram at the very start of the picture, and the use of some bizarrely inappropriate music during a later sequence, seem more like some producer's half-hearted attempt to blunt the sharp edge of the film's commentary with silliness. Luckily for the viewer and the film, however, Ravenous is far too powerful a motion picture to be undercut in this fashion. By the time the final reel has passed, any memory of earlier missteps is forgotten as the pace grows more deliberate and the action becomes bloodier and bloodier up until the final moments. Unjustly neglected on the screen, Ravenous is a film with a great deal to say. It's only too bad that cannibalism was the best way to say it.

• A.D. V

  
  Part horror movie, part thriller and part historical film mixed with some very black humor and the American-Indian legend of the Wendigo to boot, makes for a strange but highly enjoyable cannibalistic romp through the Mid-1800's. It takes its time to get going but once it does it… More
  Part horror movie, part thriller and part historical film mixed with some very black humor and the American-Indian legend of the Wendigo to boot, makes for a strange but highly enjoyable cannibalistic romp through the Mid-1800's. It takes its time to get going but once it does it hardly ever lets up. Top-notch performances by Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle plus a wonderful and memorable score.

• Lafe F

  
  There's a bit of black humour in this historically-set man-flesh-eating action-horror-suspense film. A group of soldiers running Fort Spencer outpost receive a strange visitor, raving about a cannibal massacre in the mountains. A group of soldiers go investigate the remains, and… More
  There's a bit of black humour in this historically-set man-flesh-eating action-horror-suspense film. A group of soldiers running Fort Spencer outpost receive a strange visitor, raving about a cannibal massacre in the mountains. A group of soldiers go investigate the remains, and find out it is true - but the cannibals aren't dead! First the soldiers on the mountain get massacred; then the cannibalism continues at the Fort. Very little flesh-eating is shown, but it's the whole discussion of it, which might turn some people off. The hero soldier (Guy Pierce) faces the tough choice of having to eat human flesh for his own survival. There's a few twists along the way to the gorey showdown. The bent western music is very good for this particular story. There were a few exciting moments; but not too much scares or suspense, except when there's cannibals on the scene.

• Dean M

  
  Sicko and shocking tale of cannibalism and vampirism. I hate cannibalism film but except <i>Hannibal</i>.

• Stuart B

  
  Good movie, but leaves a nasty taste in your mouth ;)

• Michael G

  
  My favorite movie about cannibalism. Make sure you're eating raw meat when you watch it.

• Emily A

  
  Period peice horror doesn't get much better than this, nor does it get much gorier. Is delicious an appropriate word to describe a film about cannibalism?

• Duncan R

  
  This movie's not for everyone, especially considering it's subject matter, but I thought it was both imaginative and a thrill to watch. I can't really talk about the plot much, since I'd probably give away one of three big plot twists. Needless to say, if you like… More
  This movie's not for everyone, especially considering it's subject matter, but I thought it was both imaginative and a thrill to watch. I can't really talk about the plot much, since I'd probably give away one of three big plot twists. Needless to say, if you like period films, horror movies, or both, give it a look-see.

• William G

  
  Screwy, but watchable period cannibal thriller.

• Marion R

  
  I thought this movie was funny, in a dark comedic way. It's not for everyone, I think you need to have a dark sense of humor to get this one.

• Marcus W

  
  It's a good idea and well acted but there's something about the tone which messes it up. The score is a bit haphazard and where this film could have been an intelligent horror movie, it instead rushes and refuses to be serious thus relegating it to watchable but forgettable.

• Quinto W

  
  Somewhat uneven most of the time, but I did like the performances and the really cool music and found it surprisingly funny some times.

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