Film review: The Hunger

The Hunger (1983) Directed by Tony Scott (Spoilers)

This erotic and stylish film based on the novel of the same name by Whitley Strieber, stars Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. Miriam (Deneuve) is a beautiful bisexual vampire who falls in love with her consorts and bestows them with the gift of immortal life. But unlike her, the lovers age and transform into wrinkled desiccated husks. She keeps them in her cellar as part of a gruesome collection of lovers where she occasionally whispers affectionately to them. Miriam and her lover John are not typical vampires, they are more like immortals who must feed on human blood. They do not possess fangs and do not mind the sunlight, all other 'vampire killing weapons' are useless against them. In order to feed they use sharp pointed ankh pendants to stab at their victim's neck and then they drain them, making sure to burn the bodies and leave no trace behind. A typical hunt for the couple is seen at the beginning where John and Miriam are in a nightclub with loud rock music and flashing lights, a very stylized scene that depicts the nightlife of the decade. They invite a couple back to their home where they feed and dispose of the bodies. The ankh pendant symbolizes eternal life in ancient Egypt and Miriam's background.

The next day John (Bowie) notices that he is aging, he approaches a brilliant doctor Sarah (Sarandon) for help. She is experimenting with blood diseases and aging. She ignores John who ages so rapidly that despite him begging Miriam to kill him, she puts him in the cellar with her other lovers. Sarah tries to find John but meets Miriam and the two fall in love, in a very erotic and beautiful scene with 'The Flower Duet' in the background, Miriam and Sarah make love. Without Sarah noticing, Miriam bites her arm and injects her own blood into Sarah's vein. Soon Sarah notices the changes to her body and tries to fight the urge to feed and tries to fight miriam who wants to make her into another lover.

This film is very stylized and quite exquisite, the actors are perfect in it, I love the chemistry between Bowie and Deneuve. I also found the love scene between Sarandon and Deneuve quite gorgeous. The costumes and the cinematography are also stunning. I do agree that some plot points are sketchy and audiences are left a bit puzzled, in the end this film should be seen as a work of cinematic art. It is a sexual techno thriller with vampires.