Our review of Ravenous in 2014 was a bit pants, so we’ve redone the post and released it here again as we want to praise this brilliant, if flawed, darkly humorous horror film cult classic which 20 years ago entered into its difficult production.

Directed by Antonia Bird, and released in 1999, it’s loosely based on the Donner Party Incident of 1856 and features a freezing cold, claustrophobic sense of isolation.

It was forgotten and disregarded upon its initial release, but has developed a cult following ever since and is now considered something of a flawed gem.

The History of Ravenous (the 1999 film)

It stars Guy Pearce as an anxiety-ridden army officer who is sent off to a remote army outpost in the Sierra Nevada.

There he meets Robert Carlyle’s mysterious F.W. Colqhoun, who has a disturbing story to tell, which happens to involve cannibalism.

From there, a quirky story of urban legends emerges with excellent performances. Plus, Ravenous’ unique soundtrack, remains something of a marvel.

It’s a brilliant and inventive film. It features a quirky blend of violence, humour, and existential dismay.

And that’s helped along by tremendous performances from Pearce and, in particular, Carlyle. He was fresh from his remarkable turn as psychopath Begbie in Trainspotting.

It’s a dastardly tale of cannibalism which sees Carlyle’s character arrive at the remote Fort Spencer army outpost in the Sierra Nevadas. Here he finds a bunch of social misfits who guard the post, such as:

• The peculiar Private Toffler (Jeffrey Davies).
• Drunken Major Knox (Stephen Spinella).
• Amiable boss Colonel Hart (Jeffrey Jones—our theory is his character is gay, as he takes a liking to Boyd).
• Rambunctious, but highly competent Private Reich (Neal McDonough on terrific form with his piercing blue eyes).
• The borderline mute Martha (Sheila Tousey).

All are at this dilapidated post due to unexplained misdemeanours.

The latest addition is Private John Boyd (Pearce). He’s clearly struggling with PTSD from the Mexican-American war, but is labelled a coward by his superiors and bunged off to Fort Spencer to rot, essentially.

However, the sudden arrival of Caryle’s “servant of God” F.W. Colqhoun sends many at the outpost on a dangerous rescue mission into the mountains, which soon becomes chaotic.

The first 60 minutes are riveting—there’s a glimpse below of the utterly fantastic cave scene, although be aware there are major spoilers in that.

In our opinion, this is surely one of the best moments in recent cinematic history—a visceral, thunderous, bizarrely joyous culmination of all of the character’s actions.

Unfortunately, it does wipe out a number of the individuals you’ve come to like.

But that’s what makes it all the more impactful, with Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman’s thunderous score complementing the scene perfectly.

It’s then followed by a riveting showdown on a spectacular mountaintop. A do-or-die moment for Boyd, with Carlyle on incredible form as the terrifying cannibal in action.

Ravenous does have its flaws, though, which are all in its second act.

After Boyd makes his jump (see the clip above), the film changes gear and becomes a different type of beast.

With several strong characters wiped out of the plot, the script turns towards more of a psychological horror with huge doses of homoeroticism (which really does work a treat).

The black humour also ramps up. Some of of this does, and doesn’t, work. It really depends on the scene.

Heck, we’re aiming for a balanced argument here. As we do think the first hour is exceptional stuff and genuinely classic cinema.

But Act II isn’t as impressive as Act I. Not that it’s enough to detract from the entire experience.

In the final hour there’s plenty of witty wordplay and, thankfully, a thunderous final 10-minute section of excellence that rejuvenates everything.

And this more than ensures Ravenous’ cult classic status.

It only seems to further cement that position in recent years as the online world becomes more aware of it.

Ravenous’ Soundtrack

Before we discuss the production problems, we should mention Ravenous is perhaps best known for its exceptional soundtrack.

Damon Albarn (of Blur fame) and Michael Nyman composed it, with heavy emphasis on the Western time period.

Instruments include the banjo, but with rhythmic loops, elements of electronics, drums, and folk songs.

The brilliant cave scene is particularly memorable thanks to the music—it relies on thundering percussion to hammer up an incredible sense of impending doom and tension, with the dramatic Private Reich unearthing a shocking secret as the music swells.

This is simply one moment in a selection of inspired compositions that complement the film perfectly.

Ravenous’ Commercial Failure

The film flopped, unfortunately, both commercially and with the critical reaction. Critics at the time didn’t understand the film at all and many panned it.

The unusual mix of violence, cannibalism, unconventional music, and dark humour didn’t swing for the world of 1999. Unfortunately, this negative response fed down to cinema-goers, and few saw the film.

It was never going to be the box office hit of the year, but why did it fail so badly? Why did critics lambaste a film which is obviously so excellent in places, particularly its first hour?

It’s not a standalone case, of course, there are plenty of excellent films that arrive and are then promptly ignored. In the case of Ravenous, however, its failings can partially be traced back to its marketing.

Whichever marketing team got behind the film used corny, clichéd language: “You are who you eat” and “Prepare for the ultimate food scare”.

There are a few sentences in the film which rely on this type of language, but to make this a central point of the trailer gave the film a hammy, corny, awkward horror flick. This type of cheesy humour is rarely in the film.

To be fair to all involved with Ravenous, the whole production was beset with problems. The first director quit two weeks in, leaving Robert Carlyle to desperately suggest Antonia Bird as a replacement.

She took the job, and turned a near disaster into a flawed gem—in one week she turned everything around! Robert Carlyle explains her brilliant contribution below.

Sadly, the combination of problems mentioned led to Ravenous bombing at the box office, and it kind of disappeared without a trace.

Over the years it has attained a cult following, though, but it’s surprising to see many cinema-goers still don’t get it. Checking online forums, such as IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, 19 years on we’ve identified some of the criticisms.

A lot of anger (and we mean genuine vitriol—online users get VERY ANGRY) is aimed at the really rather brilliant Damon Albarn soundtrack and its unconventional use.

In one scene, not giving away plot details, one character has massacred a group of people. He then proceeds to chase a terrified individual with a knife as a jaunty folk ballad plays.

Cinema conventions would normally place a bombastic orchestra beating out the horror of the scene, so many people (and journalists) who watched Ravenous couldn’t comprehend it represented the murderer’s delighted perspective.

Innovation can often fall flat when people expect the norm, unfortunately, and in 1999 Ravenous’ quirky mix of humour, horror, anxiety, claustrophobia, and lack of cinema conventions failed to connect with bemused hacks and audiences.

Thankfully, in 2014, its release on Blu-Ray saw it receive something of a resurgence, so it’s now being considered in a different light.

Ravenous’ Continuing Legacy

Luckily for Mr. Wapojif, back in 1999 his sister (Miss. Wapojif) saw it at a cinema in Manchester. Mr. Wapojif soon saw it himself on video (he was too young to see it in the cinema, it’s an 18). Yes, we mean video. VHS.

Those big awkward tape things that we were all lumbered with for two decades. Way before DVDs and online streaming were even a consideration.

Since then, Mr. Wapojif has seen the film many times, and almost 20 years on from his first viewing it’s fantabulous to see the film finally receiving a reappraisal.

With a DVD release and its appearance on the likes of Netflix, it’s found a new audience, its cult status has grown, and more people are aware of its excellence.

Sadly, director Antonia Bird died in late 2013, but a Blu-Ray release for Ravenous was also made available.

This time out the critical reaction was one of acclaim, with many 4/5 reviews across the board. Hurray, it’s a miracle! As much of a miracle as what Antonia Bird did for Ravenous and it’s her we have to thank for a brilliant cult classic.

And people keep championing it. Such as us. And the Church of Wittertainment—the BBC’s flagship film review show—where Mark Kermode made it is his TV movie of the week.

Mark’s TV Movie of the Week is RAVENOUS (Antonia Bird, 1999). It’s on at 9pm on Saturday on @horror_channel. pic.twitter.com/2kvgvAheTR

— Wittertainment (@wittertainment) November 30, 2018

There’s a glowing endorsement if you ever did need one.

It’s fantastic to see time is kinder to Ravenous, as this is a title that deserves some serious recognition.

Ravenous’ YouTube Tributes

On a final note, we’d like to flag up this excellent video from Atun-Shei Films.

It’s a glowing tribute to Ravenous (obviously). In this video essay, the channel lays forth passionate and intelligent arguments for why the film is so terrific.

And this very review RIGHT HERE that you’re reading right now gets a short appearance at the 5:16 mark!

Delighted to be up there, so we suggest you also watch the above.