My Review of The Hunger (1983)

 

Written by Ivan Davis And Michael Thomas

Directed by Tony Scott

Miriam Blaylock: "Humankind dies one way, we another. Their end is final. Ours is not. In the earth, in rotting wood, in the eternal darkness, we will see and hear and feel."

Bisexual erotic vampire movie, anyone? Well, for spooky season it was on my list of movies to watch. Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon and David Bowie? How could I resist?

Taking place in New York, you've got vampire couple Miriam (Deneuve) and John Blaylock (Bowie) living their best lives and dining on anyone who had the misfortune of getting in their way. However there's a snag to their relationship.

The snag being that John's body has started to age and he's on the verge of a living death. It's also made clear that John's in a long line of lovers suffering the same fate. It turns out that being a lover of Miriam's does have a horrible price to pay.

Then there's Doctor Sarah Roberts (Sarandon). She's working on a way to reverse rapid ageing among primates with her boyfriend Tom Haver (Cliff DeYoung) and colleague, Charlie Humphries (Rufus Collins). Sarah's research attracted the attention of John, who desperately wanted her help for his condition.

At first Sarah didn't believe John but when she did, it was practically too late. John killed a protege of Miriam's named Alice Cavender (Beth Ehlers) and his body began to break down. Then there was Sarah and Miriam. Honestly, their relationship is the most memorable part of this movie.

Particularly that erotically charge sex scene between the pair where Miriam also made Sarah into a vampire. For a woman who seemed selective with her lovers, Miriam's biggest mistake was choosing Sarah as her next one. It ended badly for her with Miriam suffering the same fate as her former lovers and Sarah becoming the new Miriam.

- Miriam, John and Sarah used an ankh knife in order to draw blood from their victims. It was harder for vampires to feed in this movie.

- Based on a book of the same name by Whitley Strieber, albeit a loose adaptation.

- Standout music: Maurice Ravel's Le Gibet and Iggy Pop's Funtime.

- Chronology: New York for the majority of the movie before Sarah moved to London and acquired new lovers. John was a vampire for 200 years and Miriam was alive in Ancient Egypt.

The Hunger certainly hit the right spots for 1980s horror. You've got three great lead performances, even if the relationships themselves needed a little more time to explore. I also liked seeing the more severe side of vamprism in this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10