Ravenous

Completely mismarketed and misunderstood upon its initial 1999 release, Antonia Bird’s wicked period-horror adventure set in the snowy western Sierra Nevadas during the Mexican-American War was also, as a result, barely seen. I remember ditching work for the afternoon on the day it opened, and practically skipping over to the best theater in NYC at the time, only to find myself seated with like three other people. I guess I was one of the few horror fans excited by the odd, mouth-depicting poster proclaiming, “You are who you eat.” Also, it was Guy Pearce’s leading-role follow-up to L.A. Confidential, and who wouldn’t be excited about that? It seems the studio (and how amazing that a big studio, 20th Century Fox, was even releasing this film!) couldn’t decide if Ravenous was a period action thriller or a black comedy or a cannibal gorefest. The answer is that it’s all three and much more.

Despite being inspired by the infamous Donner Party incident—the American pioneer expedition gone very wrong, which has provided the source material for many docs and fictional works—Bird’s film is a survival story like no other. It not only encompasses multiple genres, but also extends into various subsections of horror, with cannibalism being presented more like vampirism—emphasizing the restorative powers of consuming human flesh and blood—and many references to the old Native American Wendigo myth, in which hunger becomes insatiable.

Starting with the Nietzsche quote, “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster,” followed directly by “Eat me,” attributed to Anonymous, pretty much sums up the mood of the film. It tells you to take what you’re about to see seriously, as one should, but also to laugh at it, because you should do that, too—perhaps a tall order for some, considering the film’s highly unpleasant themes.

Pearce plays the PTSD-afflicted Army Captain John Boyd—a coward unjustly rewarded for heroism (sounds about right for America)—the straight man among a bunch of oddballs posted at a remote fort that serves as a way station for passengers traversing the western frontier. One dark night, a half-dead stranger, Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle, having a ball), shows up, and, after regaining strength, regales them with increasingly gruesome campfire stories of hardship and eventual cannibalism. From there, it’s only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.

Largely unfolding as an extended showdown between Colqhoun and John, who is relentlessly pursued—physically through the wilderness and psychologically as Colqhoun knows John has gotten an accidental taste for blood during battle—Ravenous is intense, pulse-pounding, and exhilarating. There’s also that aforementioned streak of humor—Jeremy Davies’s character screaming “He was licking me!” after Colqhoun discovers the gaping flesh wound on his stomach will never not be funny—and perhaps my all-time-favorite horror score, by Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn. You would never know that Bird was the third director on this movie—which should be watched big, loud, and often.