Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie are Miriam and John Blaylock, husband and wife vampires who have been together for centuries, but not forever as John finds himself rapidly aging. In desperation he turns to a researcher working to reverse Progeria, but instead of saving himself, he may have instead doomed himself to be replaced as Miriam's immortal companion.
I didn't like The Hunger (1983) when I first saw it on the big screen way back when. I liked John's arc, but found Tony Scott's direction to be more concerned with flash and visual style and less with story. My memories of the film consisted mostly of crumbling corpses, white pigeons, and diaphanous curtains blowing in the wind. Seeing it again for the first time since the mid 80s, those elements are here in plentitude, and some of my earlier assessments remain true, but the style, dated as it is serves the story more than it impairs it, lending it a modern gothic flair which turns this story of doomed romance into more of a fairy tale than an outright tragedy. There's also a great satire on the interminable waiting required in sitting in the waiting room at a doctor's office. If only the characters had a bit more depth to them, it would be possibly be one of the classic vampire movies instead of just a very good one.
No comments:
Post a Comment