Reviewed By: Jimmy D.I hate to admit this but this is the first time I ever seen Ravenous. I remember in the age of the video store that I rented this once or twice, but never got to watch it and had to return it back. Ravenous is a very atmospheric horror film that is centered on an epidemic of flesh-eating and how it empowers people once they taste the flesh. The film takes place during the Mexican-American War, Col. Ives who seems to be on the verge of death makes his way barely to an isolated outpost. Once there he goes into the fort with this story of what brought him to this place.
The story is about some travelers who battle starvation. They ate all the livestock and animals first, and then stuff like belts and shoes. When one of the people dies, they decided to eat him. Thus, they started to eat other people as well. Well the commander sends out a group to investigate this story. Ravenous is bleak, it is cold-blooded and just all out cruel. The blood and gore is only half the fun of the film, the other half is just the tremendous acting by all involved. Directed by the late Antonia Bird and starring one of her regulars Robert Carlyle, this film like her earlier film Priest really shows that she thinks outside of the box and knows how to really capture the desperation of mankind. This film has so many creepy moments and all-out surprises and revelations that I feel this film really thought outside of the horror realm and wanted to create a multi-layered film that was just more than your simple cannibalism horror film.
Ravenous has some dark comic touches that really work as well. While most films set in snow look hokey or fake, this one really captures the feel of the icy coldness and atmosphere perfectly. I thought the final confrontation was strong and unpredictable and really kept with the spirit of this film. I love that this film plays off of people not believing the story, and that the music really fit the mood as they try to figure out what happened to his group. This film was clever in the way it approached cannibalism, it made it feel more like a werewolf or vampire. It avoided all the horror film clichés, and really kept me entertained. I am just shocked that I waited so long to finally see it, but on Blu ray with this transfer it was so well worth the wait.
This film puts a clever spin on a tired old classic, if you never seen this film before you need to rush immediately and see it. If you have seen this before and are wondering if the Blu ray is worth the double or in this case triple dip, keep in mind this is Shout! Factory and they have yet to steer us wrong on their collection.
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