The cult horror classic Ravenous, 25 years later
When watching Antonia Bird’s 1999 horror-comedy Western cannibal film Ravenous for the first time, I was initially tempted to think, ‘They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,’ but that would be doing the movie a disservice. Ravenous is truly a one of a kind, an unforgettable horror story of America eating itself alive at the edge of the frontier.
In April 1874, American prospector Alfred Packer emerged as the sole survivor of a six-man winter trek across Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, disheveled with only rags on his feet. After returning to civilization, he was accused of killing and eating his comrades and subsequently put on trial. During this trial, increasingly bizarre and self-contradictory accounts of the men’s expedition came to light, where it's claimed that another man had killed four of the prospectors before Packer killed him in self-defense and, alone, feasted on the five corpses. Yet, this delirium-driven ramble did not persuade the jury nor the judge, who sentenced Packer to be hanged until he was “dead, dead, dead.”
Scenarios like that of Alfred Packer, such as the Donner Party, seem to cause those involved to become unhinged and slip through the cracks of America’s Manifest Destiny tale—these kinds of stories in the American popular imagination inspired screenwriter Ted Griffin’s initial script for Ravenous (1999).
Set shortly after the Mexican-American War, the story of Ravenous (1999) follows U.S. Army Captain John Boyd—played by Guy Pearce—as he is assigned to a remote military outpost in the Sierra Nevada. Promptly following Boyd’s arrival, a stranger confronts the fort’s personnel, Colquhoun—played by Robert Carlyle—who claims to have been the sole survivor of a wagon train headed for the Pacific. This intriguing plot is then complemented by a star-studded supporting cast, including some familiar and renowned supporting actors like David Arquette, Neal McDonough, and Jeffrey Jones.
The Wendigo myth also served as inspiration for Ravenous (1999). In this myth, a human must consume the flesh of another, becoming a cannibal, and afterward gains inhuman strength and speed but is forever plagued with a hunger for human flesh. Though this premise may seem overdone, this film stands out in terms of execution. While undoubtedly a horror movie, containing no shortage of scares, this film revels in the inherent absurdity of its premise. It serves up a hefty portion of gallows humor in its narrative descent into cannibalistic madness.
Another film highlight is Robert Carlyle’s acting as the enigmatic cannibal Colquhoun, who—no offense intended to Guy Pearce—truly steals the show, and is the most memorable aspect of the movie. One may recognize Carlyle from his classics like Trainspotting (1996) and The Full Monty (1997), but this is where he truly dominates the screen, playing a repulsive yet charming cannibal, fully selling the audience on the sincerity behind his attempts to lure Boyd into cannibalism.
Another star of Ravenous (1999) not immediately apparent is the movie’s hypnotic, one-of-a-kind soundtrack, composed by Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn (of bands like Blur and Gorillaz). The score features instruments meant to evoke the feel of the period, with violins, guitars, banjos, accordions, and jaw harps used to reinterpret classic American songs like “Hail, Columbia.” What truly makes this soundtrack unforgettable is the use of musical base, deeply steeped in the period, and how the duo eventually transforms the songs into an increasingly disturbing collection of overlapping sound loops and digital distortions. Mirroring the characters' descent into madness, the music of Ravenous is truly unforgettable, with the tracks “Colquhoun's Story” and “The Cave” being particular highlights.
What makes Ravenous (1999) truly special is just how unapologetically weird and offbeat it is. From its distinct soundtrack, black humor, unapologetic depictions of violence, and period setting—as well as the definite homoerotic overtones between Boyd and Colquhoun—it feels like there truly is no other movie like it. Even so, audiences don’t always react well to distinctiveness, and the movie was a box office failure worldwide.
To be fair, it’s a miracle Ravenous emerged as a watchable movie, as the original director, Macedonian arthouse darling Milcho Manchevski, was removed from production by an executive three weeks into production. They were then replaced at the last second by Antonia Bird—a personal friend of Carlyle mainly known for her work on down-to-Earth British dramas—not exactly someone’s first thought for a comedy-horror Western. Despite, or maybe because of, this behind-the-scenes struggle and its seemingly contradictory nature, Ravenous is a one-of-a-kind delight that is absolutely worth your time, especially considering it was released twenty-five years ago this March. Ravenous is a wonderful cult classic that stands apart from others in its genre(s), while still fitting into the grand tradition of a self-reflective American horror story.
Thumbnail Photo of Robert Carlyle courtesy of Wikimedia Commons