Ravenous
- Director: Antonia Bird
- Writer: Ted Griffin
- Producer: Adam Fields; David Heyman
CGiii Comment
A dark exploration into man - with darkly comic undertones.
The acting is spot on, the production values perfect - the script...madcap and focused.
The direction, however, is the problem - it just lacks the maturity and the masculinity needed for such an exposition of cannibalism.
The poofy preacher is a nauseatingly false character - Pearce and Carlyle excel - pity Bird didn't.
It had all the ingredients for something special - but, the chef just wasn't up to scratch.
Marred by a soundtrack - the composer should never work again and Bird should reconsider her musical tastes - especially when subjecting them to a wider audience.
A great shame...it could have been brilliant.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Captain John Boyd receives a promotion after defeating the enemy command in a battle of the Mexican-American War, but because the general realizes it was an act of cowardice that got him there, he is given a backhanded promotion to Fort Spencer, where he is third in command. The others at the fort are two Indians, George and his sister, Martha, who came with the place, Chaplain Toffler, Reich, the soldier; Cleaves, a drugged-up cook; and Knox, who is frequently drunk. When a Scottish stranger named Colquhoun appears and recovers from frostbite almost instantly after being bathed, he tells a story about his party leader, Ives, eating members of the party to survive. As part of their duty, they must go up to the cave where this occurred to see if any have survived. Only Martha, Knox, and Cleaves stay behind. George warns that since Colquhoun admits to eating human flesh, he must be a Windigo, a ravenous cannibalistic creature.
Cast & Characters
Guy Pearce as Capt. John Boyd;
Robert Carlyle as Col. Ives / F.W. Colqhoun;
David Arquette as Pvt. Cleaves;
Jeremy Davies as Pvt. Toffler;
Jeffrey Jones as Col. Hart;
John Spencer as Gen. Slauson;
Stephen Spinella as Knox;
Neal McDonough as Pvt. Reich;
Joseph Runningfox as George;
Bill Brochtrup as Lindus;
Sheila Tousey as Martha;
Fernando Becerril as Mexican Commander;
Gabriel Berthier as Mexican Commander;
Pedro Altamirano as Mexican Commander;
Joseph Boyle as U.S. Blonde Soldier