The Hunger

In the early 80s, a two-thousand-year-old vampire (Catherine Deneuve) eyes a doctor (Susan Sarandon) to replace her ailing companion (David Bowie).

The Hunger starts out promisingly enough, cutting between the Bauhaus performing “Bela Lugosi is Dead” and David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as fangless vampires preying on a pair of ultra-hip 80’s club-goers.

Great, so this is going to be a movie about the vampiric nature of the 80s “greed is good” mentality?

Nope.

A few scenes later David Bowie’s character is rapidly aging and no amount of blood can stop it. He goes to see Susan Sarandon’s character, a scientist specializing in rare conditions resulting in premature aging.

Oh, so this is going to be a movie about the vampiric nature of youth, and the ends to which people will go in order to stay young?

Nope.

A few scenes after that, Bowie’s in a box and Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve are in bed together. Literally.

So this is going to be a movie about the vampiric nature of… lesbian sex?

Thankfully, no.

Deneuve wants Sarandon to replace Bowie as her companion, but to do so Sarandon would have to kill someone every week. She would, in essence, become addicted to blood and require her “fix” to survive.

Ah-ha! So this is a movie about the vampiric nature of addiction!

Well, almost.

Assuming you turn the film off right after Deneuve takes a tumble down the stairwell, this metaphor works. Unfortunately, the tacked on ending totally throws this out the window, and you’re left scratching your head.

That’s not to say The Hunger is without merit. Director Tony Scott shows a lot of flair throughout the film, and delivers a visually slick piece of work. Unfortunately, no amount of style can overcome a senseless script and Catherine Deneuve’s flat performance.

The Hunger drips style with every frame, just don’t look for much from the story in the way of sense or meaning.