Ravenous (DVD)

Lieutenant Boyd (Guy Pearce) is an apparent hero during the American war with Mexico in the 1840's. Having been promoted to captain, his commanding officer discovers that he is a coward and transfers him to the remote Fort Spencer in the bleak, but picturesque, Sierra Nevada mountain range. With Boyd having met the dysfunctional fort team, Calhoun (Robert Carlyle) stumbles into camp looking bedraggled and traumatized. He tells his story about a wagon train, lost and cut off from the outside world after attempting a short cut that went wrong. As his story unfolds, the fort inhabitants listen in terror as Calhoun recounts a tale of desperation and depravity as the wagon ...  Read the complete review

Having survived the perils of the Mexican American War captain John Boyd is publicly congratulated and privately condemned. Aware that Boyd's survival was not due entirely to selfless bravery, his commanding officer "rewards" him with a promotion and a new posting – to a remote, mountainous base named Fort Spencer. Upon his arrival, Boyd is greeted by a dubious selection of peers and superiors, including an alcoholic, an overzealous Christian, and a simpleton. Late one night, Boyd is startled by a figure at the window outside the cabin. When the unit dashes outside to find the intruder, they find a dirty, emaciated man unconscious, suffering from ...  Read the complete review

Ravenous, released briefly in 1999, is an unfairly overlooked little film. A darkly comic tale of cannibalism in nineteenth century America, it managed to both amuse and, at times, unsettle me. It seems that Hollywood is ill equipped to deal with genuinely interesting and innovative films these days. In a fair world Ravenous would be as well known as Blair Witch Project, and just as successful (it's the only Yank horror movie I've seen from the last few years that's as good as Blair Witch). Instead it's all but unknown. The film is set during the US/Mexico war of the 1850s (I know nothing about this war, I'm afraid). John Boyd, played by Guy ...  Read the complete review

RAVENOUS Jamie Oliver once commented that Ravenous 'was an exquisitely pukka dish of rampaging culinary technique!' Gordon Ramsey agreed that the 'moderate application of a thick red sauce over the finest moist chopped liver sent a f***ing shiver down his spine.' Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall goes one step further, proclaiming that the 'knife play puts almost all other master chefs to shame!' Okay, okay, so none of our culinary experts ever actually heaved such compliments upon Antonia Bird's bloody cannibal opus, but if they had moonlighted as film critics when the movie was first released you can just about imagine all three exclaiming that Ravenous is one ...  Read the complete review

If only I'd looked online sooner for this film - I hunted in stores and 2nd hand shops for nigh on 3 years for a copy of this before I was successful. I now try and recommend this to everyone I speak to, and thanks to this wonderful site I can now spread the word further! This 1999 film is something of an oddity - it's "hero" is nothing of the sort, he is a coward. During the Mexican-American War in the late 1800s, Lt Boyd (played by Guy Pearce) plays dead while his men are killed. When the enemy are unaware he displays some bravery to take them on and capture them. His is promoted for his heroism but his commanding officer recognises his cowardly ...  Read the complete review