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The Hunger (1983)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 10/11

Hunger
10/11: As soon as I saw Tony Scott's name as the director of The Hunger, I knew right away what to expect: an arty experimental film with schizophrenic camera work, random shots, unrelated scenes, and an incomprehensible story.

Well, it turns out I was right. That's the Tony Scott I know. Once again, fans of Susan Sarandon will get to see her naked. Fans of Catherine Deneuve will get to see her suck Susan's nipples. And fans of David Bowie will get to see him becoming old really fast while losing his hair.

I wouldn't classify Bowie's role as a big one, but it's more of a cameo. Speaking of cameos, how about Willem Dafoe? Every time the little girl is shown, she looks almost like the boy from Morte a Venezia that Dirk Bogarde's character was stalking. As far as the plot goes, it's a substandard vampire flick but with weird detours from the usual vampire behavior, rituals, and routine.

What works the best is the cinematography, the acting, and the interesting storyline in relation to the rapid age degeneration. And then for some reason, that last part stops short of playing a big role. In a way, it's almost like watching a pre-AIDS movie before the virus was fully realized in 1984 or thereabouts.

All in all, because of the irrelevant introduction, crappy camera work, retarded vampirism, and useless yet stylish secondary characters, The Hunger is a pretentious soft-porn mess in the haze of extensive cigarette smoke.