The Hunger [DVD] [1983]

Another David Bowie classic. Creepy thriller.

As a devotee of quality Vampire literature and film (I'm nearly 50 now and have been fascinated by the mythology of the revenant since I was around 8), I'm confident to say that this is the finest Vampire film I've ever seen, the only runner up being 'Martin' by George Romero. Until someone of the directorial ability of Cronenberg, Kubrick or Roeg makes movies of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's 'Hotel Transylvania'(or any of her stunning Le Comte De Saint-Germain novels) and Suzy McKee Charnas' 'The Vampire Tapestry', this adaptation of the eponymous novel by Whitley Strieber will remain unchallenged. What amazes me most, though, is how many young Vampire fans - even Goths in thier mid-twenties - have NEVER seen this fine feature.I invoke literature here, as anyone who understands narrative knows, novelists are more often than not superior writers to those who focus on screenplays. And the old cliche that 'but that won't work in a film' is simply nonsense. Why can't a film be plotted like a novel? It's still narrative. Film-makers are often constrained by commercial concerns of second and third parties in a way that novelists are less victim to. And don't give me 'the director's vision' - yes, it's vital, but the vision comes from the ideas seeded in the narrative created by the WRITER.Strieber is not the finest prose stylist in history - he is instead, a master of bestseller style writing, in the manner of King, Dan Simmons, George R R Martin and the like, but he is better at reaching into the soul and stirring emotions than King and less workmanlike that Simmons at his best. 'The Hunger' stands alongside the novels I've mentioned (and 'Live Girls' by Ray Garton) as one of the best post-Matheson Vampire novels ('I am Legend'). It has every human emotion in it - love, lust, fear, anger, despair, joy, elation, hatred, greed, guilt, shame and so on - and is a very exciting read, even for those used to high literary modernism and the classics. It's brilliantly told and less breathlessly camp than the work of Anne Rice (don't get me wrong, 'Interviw with the Vampire' is superb, a work of genius) and its historical flashbacks rival Yarbro's Saint-Germain books too, especially 'Out of the House of Life'.Scott does a fine job with the adaptation he directs, which is stylised, Romantic (note large R), sexy and tragic...and frightening. His 80s high budget approach graced the Tv ads of the time - this was an opulent decade in the media of course and visually his technique makes me think of a soft-filtered Michael Mann (Scott understood buildings, for example). In this film, he rivals the two great SF works of his brother Riddley ('Alien' and 'Blade Runner'). The opening sequence, with Bowie and Deneuve in a club, picking up a couple of young postpunks while Bauhaus play 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' in a cage is both postmodern and classical and timeless (somehow), the shots of Bowie parting the girls' stockinged thighs, the flashes of a subway train in motion, Deneuve's leather military cap, spandex...perfect. Call yourself a Fangbanger or a Goth? You MUST see this...The transfer is very good in my opinion - I always thought the film was very mistily shot, but that was just my VHS, so I can't wait for a decent BluRay version. Aside from all the vampire stuff, if you love 80s Horror (and the early part of that decade was a golden age for fright films), you must buy this.Incidental music is very good - plus the appearance of Iggy Pop/David Bowie's 'Funtime' from "The Idiot" works well ('last night I was down in the lab/talkin' to Dracula and his crew,'). The cast are all superb - Bowie is always excellent when properly cast (as he is here), Deneuve is as icy and impeccable as ever and Sarandon sparkles. If only Neil Jordan had been able to cast 'Interview with the Vampire' as well as this - Cruise, Pitt, Slater have their merits, but are too Hollywood for a truly authentic vampire film to my way of thinking (plus, Lestat is blonde, is he not?).So here's your viewing/reading list : this film and the book it derives from, 'Martin' by Romero, the novels of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Suzy McKee Charnas and 'Live Girls' by Ray Garton. I'm assuming you've tackled Stoker, Byron, Polidori, LeFanu,Rice...get this under your belt, then get back to 'True Blood'(which is fun, but only ever approaches art in the tender moments between Sookie and Bill in season 1). Did you think all this Buffy/'Twilight'/Laurel K Hamilton stuff was new? Which reminds me, read 'Sunglasses After Dark' by Nancy Collins if you want to cover the original female vampire hunter.A great, great film that every lover of the living dead must own. Totally authentic and no silly, speedy special effects.

This is a great DVD and the cover and case are in great condition. The disc plays perfect. I would definitely buy DVDs from them again. The DVD arrived on time and communication with the seller was great. Top Marks All the Way.

The sad news of Tony Scott's suicide yesterday has led to the expected praise of many of his action movies like Crimson Tide and Top Gun, but his debut, the cult vampire movie The Hunger, has actually aged pretty well too. I bought it a month ago to replace an ageing VHS copy. It was widely derided upon it's release in 1983 as glossy and over-stylised (rather like brother Ridley's reviews for Blade Runner when that film opened), a vacuous soft-porn horror that made Catherine Deneuve do things the great actress shouldn't have been made to do. The film tells of two New Yorkers, John and Miriam Blaylock, who live in luxury and crave blood. Miriam (Deneuve) is an old vampire (although the term vampire is never mentioned) who goes back to Egyptian times. John (a rather good David Bowie) is the latest in her line of lovers who never seem to get beyond a few hundred years before rapidly ageing, although cursed to immortal life. This starts to happen to Bowie and brings the pair into contact with a young doctor, Sarah (Susan Sarandon), who is studying premature ageing in apes in a New York hospital. The bisexual Miriam is instantly attracted to her and sees her as a successor to John.It's not a long film (90mins) and a sub-plot involving a cop investigating a missing person could have been expanded to add a little more tension to the situation the Blaylock's find themselves in at the expense of some rather extended sections in the hospital. Certainly compared to the stunningly edited first 6 or so mins, including the opening nightclub scene featuring Peter Murphy and his band Bauhaus, it moves rather slowly therafter. But the film has stayed visually stunning and its looks have not dated, though perhaps there's a bit too much billowing curtain (even in the attic) which leads to comparisons with TV adverts. Deneuve looks gorgeous throughout, dressed in a sort of 1940/50s style most of the time, all sharp couture, sharper hairstyles and veiled hats; Bowie acquits himself well and the make-up job as he ages is still one of the best, and Sarandon smokes her way through her confusion as Miriam weaves her spell on her (its surprising looking back how much smoking goes on in this film, even among the medics at her hospital!). It's also a film that is well-integrated with it's music score, mixing Ravel and Schubert with some effective synth squeals from David Lawson.The DVD has a good stills gallery and an audio commentary from Sarandon and Scott. It is clear to me that The Hunger has undoubtedly had an effect on later vampire films or TV series (think about Channel 4's excellent Ultraviolet, with it's depiction of the threat called "Code V" - never vampirism - and it's attention to the blood biochemistry detail, or Being Human's differentiation between the younger vampires and The Old Ones). Remember Tony Scott with his action films for sure, but dont overlook this excellent and subtle horror debut either.

THE HUNGER 1983 DVD 2004Back in the 1980s I replaced most of my collection of 8mm movies with VHS and I have been going through a same process of upgrading to DVD for the last two or three years. This has given me the excuse to watch many films that I have not seen for some time and this stylish vampire movie from the great Tony Scott is one that I have recently revisited.The film stars the fabulous Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie in a role that I believe to be one of his best performances as an actor, as vampires living in modern day (1983) New York, in a luxurious state of bored longevity, but even vampires do not live forever and the story plots the anguish as one of the partners begins to age and the other needs to find a new companion. The plot is unhurried but has sufficient momentum to keep the viewer interested and there are surprises and twists enough to please.This is one of my favourites of the modern vampire genre and is probably the film which most influenced the development of the vampire cult movies and television series of the 1990s.