ENDING SPOILER
"The Hunger" is a difficult film to categorize. On the one hand, it's great because of the stunning cinematography and the performances by the actors. On the other, there is a noticeable lack of a coherent story here. Unless you have read the novel by Whitley Streiber, you may find it difficult to understand what is going on. Furthermore, the film jettisons the entire concept by tacking on an inexplicable ending that defies the story's own sense of self-contained logic.
The plot involves an ageless vampire, currently under the personage of Miriam Blaylock. She is immortal and, out of loneliness and the desire to love, she develops the ability to turn humans into companions that seem to share her immortality. The problem is, eventually their bodies give out after a couple hundred years and they begin to age rapidly. This is the problem with Miriam's current lover, John. Adding to the horror is the fact that although her lovers are emaciated and crumbling, they cannot truly die and are sealed into coffins, forever hungry. Miriam keeps the coffins with her wherever she goes, although the film never really decides why. Is it out of her love for them? Or guilt over what she's done to them? Or is she simply afraid of being found out?
The film seems faithful at times, abbreviated at others. In the novel, Miriam was not human, but rather a member of a race of humanoid creatures that Whitley Streiber suggested were the truth behind the vampire legend. Miriam clung desperately to her own life because, although she could live forever, she could also die if she lost a significant amount of blood, and lived her life in fear of dying.
In the film, these weighty subjects are glossed over in favor of dreamlike imagery, which is actually a fair trade to certain degree. Catherine Deneuve is certainly a stunningly beautiful woman, and David Bowie is perfect as her currently disintegrating partner. Susan Sarandon gives a typically engaging performance as Sarah, the new object of Miriam's affection.
The problem is that the movie doesn't seem to have time to explore the deeper meanings behind the motivation of the characters. Miriam comes off as beautiful but empty because we aren't really given a clue as to what she really is. Whitley Strieber's conception of "vampirism" is quite different from the traditional one, yet the movie doesn't define it for the viewer, so there could be some confusion about the contradictions that seem to arise (Why can the vampires come out during the daylight? Why don't they have fangs? Why are Miriam's lovers wasting away when she isn't?). Miriam's past is only vaguely hinted at in fleeting images, most notably her memory of an ages-old lover making a first killing out of an Egyptian slave.
However, the film's biggest weakness is not the Playboy-style lesbian scene between Sarandon and Deneuve, but rather the confusing ending. Somehow it appears as if Sarah has usurped Miriam's position as the "queen" vampire, which is impossible in the context of the original novel. There was no way Sarah could have become what Miriam was, so the movie seems to be suggesting something else was going on here.
On the positive side, there are a number of great actors in this cast, even other than Deneuve, Sarandon, and Bowie. Cliff De Young is good as Sarah's lover, Tom, and there is a memorable performance by Beth Ehler as Alice, a young girl who studies music with Miriam and John. Dan Hedaya is always a pleasure.
What Tony Scott sacrifices in plot here, he makes up for in style. The narrative is carried by the visuals of the film as much as the script, and he makes excellent use of the classical music in the soundtrack. Today it is not uncommon for a film to run more than two hours long, and "The Hunger" could have been much, much better if Scott had been given full reign to flesh out Whitley Streiber's original concept.
"The Hunger" is a difficult film to categorize. On the one hand, it's great because of the stunning cinematography and the performances by the actors. On the other, there is a noticeable lack of a coherent story here. Unless you have read the novel by Whitley Streiber, you may find it difficult to understand what is going on. Furthermore, the film jettisons the entire concept by tacking on an inexplicable ending that defies the story's own sense of self-contained logic.
The plot involves an ageless vampire, currently under the personage of Miriam Blaylock. She is immortal and, out of loneliness and the desire to love, she develops the ability to turn humans into companions that seem to share her immortality. The problem is, eventually their bodies give out after a couple hundred years and they begin to age rapidly. This is the problem with Miriam's current lover, John. Adding to the horror is the fact that although her lovers are emaciated and crumbling, they cannot truly die and are sealed into coffins, forever hungry. Miriam keeps the coffins with her wherever she goes, although the film never really decides why. Is it out of her love for them? Or guilt over what she's done to them? Or is she simply afraid of being found out?
The film seems faithful at times, abbreviated at others. In the novel, Miriam was not human, but rather a member of a race of humanoid creatures that Whitley Streiber suggested were the truth behind the vampire legend. Miriam clung desperately to her own life because, although she could live forever, she could also die if she lost a significant amount of blood, and lived her life in fear of dying.
In the film, these weighty subjects are glossed over in favor of dreamlike imagery, which is actually a fair trade to certain degree. Catherine Deneuve is certainly a stunningly beautiful woman, and David Bowie is perfect as her currently disintegrating partner. Susan Sarandon gives a typically engaging performance as Sarah, the new object of Miriam's affection.
The problem is that the movie doesn't seem to have time to explore the deeper meanings behind the motivation of the characters. Miriam comes off as beautiful but empty because we aren't really given a clue as to what she really is. Whitley Strieber's conception of "vampirism" is quite different from the traditional one, yet the movie doesn't define it for the viewer, so there could be some confusion about the contradictions that seem to arise (Why can the vampires come out during the daylight? Why don't they have fangs? Why are Miriam's lovers wasting away when she isn't?). Miriam's past is only vaguely hinted at in fleeting images, most notably her memory of an ages-old lover making a first killing out of an Egyptian slave.
However, the film's biggest weakness is not the Playboy-style lesbian scene between Sarandon and Deneuve, but rather the confusing ending. Somehow it appears as if Sarah has usurped Miriam's position as the "queen" vampire, which is impossible in the context of the original novel. There was no way Sarah could have become what Miriam was, so the movie seems to be suggesting something else was going on here.
On the positive side, there are a number of great actors in this cast, even other than Deneuve, Sarandon, and Bowie. Cliff De Young is good as Sarah's lover, Tom, and there is a memorable performance by Beth Ehler as Alice, a young girl who studies music with Miriam and John. Dan Hedaya is always a pleasure.
What Tony Scott sacrifices in plot here, he makes up for in style. The narrative is carried by the visuals of the film as much as the script, and he makes excellent use of the classical music in the soundtrack. Today it is not uncommon for a film to run more than two hours long, and "The Hunger" could have been much, much better if Scott had been given full reign to flesh out Whitley Streiber's original concept.