classicsoncall Still waiting to catch David Bowie in a good movie, as his list of screen credits is small but decent enough. I didn't care for "The Man Who Fell to Earth" or the Italian Western "Il Mio West", and now this one makes it three in a row. Actually, Bowie's not in this film all that long, his character John Blaylock ages into decrepitude rather quickly and ominously when he wears out his welcome with vampire supreme Miriam (Catherine Deneuve). The early premise of the story built around Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon) and her research team studying the effects of sleep on the aging process was kind of interesting. I would liked to have had that theme explored a bit more after the crazy monkey killed Betty and ate her. Swear to God, that's in the movie.The reviewers who graded this film highly actually have some good arguments regarding it's artistic merits but this one just didn't do it for me. The best I can point to is the stylized cinematography and rather cool opening 'Bela Lugosi is Dead' treatment, but after that the murky story gets a tad gruesome, even for mature audiences. Sad to say, even well accepted vampire lore gets thrown overboard more than once each time Miriam sees her own reflection in a mirror.

Nigel P At the time of writing, Dave Bowie has recently died. To describe him as a singer/songwriter doesn't even begin to describe his musical genius – he was a true pioneer, several times over – and he has been widely recognised as such. His acting career, however, has attracted more mixed comment.He initially impressed in Nick Roeg's 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' film, in which he very convincingly played an alien in human form. He was using cocaine regularly during this time and his memory of the film is somewhat hazy – possibly that leant something to his 'out there' performance, which was powerful and desperately fragile at the same time. After a spell on stage playing The Elephant Man (without make-up, using his body and vocal inflections to communicate John Merrick's physical deformity) other parts followed, including that of John Blaylock, partner of Catherine Deneuve's Miriam Blaylock and centuries old vampire in this Tony Scott (brother of Ridley) directed film.Critics have not been kind about 'The Hunger'. The main comment has been that it is 'style over substance'. Whilst the direction, lighting and pace is extremely artistically framed and shot, the storyline is thin at best. But is that a criticism? Not as far as I am concerned. Some of my favourite films are very languid in their telling (a number of them are reviewed here) and surely the lack of a fast pace allows us to become familiar with the characters, their lives, their relationships and the world in which they inhabit. When things happen to them, we care more because we know them better than if their characters had been communicated between spectacular effects shots or a desire to get the story over and done with amidst, as Bowie might say, 'tits and explosions'.So when John Blaylock begins to look his age, it is apparent something is very wrong. It seems Miriam has tired of him somewhat, and he is alone seeking help in a hospital waiting room. The staff at the hospital seem determined not to come to his aid, and in the space of a day, he appears to age 70 years. The make-up and performance are incredible here. As Blaylock's hair comes off in clumps in his hands, as we are given glimpses of the heavy lines appearing and deepening around his eyes, we are witnessing a slow, uncomfortable demise. It is never specifically established that he dies. He is placed in a coffin, now a crumbling shell of a man, by Miriam whilst still showing signs of life – indeed, he appears to haunt her towards the film's end, although this could be an hallucination.Deneuve and Susan Sarandon (whose characters become inter-twined) get the lion's share of screen time – the idea of the eternal vampire living in accepted society has been done a number of times, of successfully so. This is no exception. It's as convincing portrayal of the supernatural existing in our time as any I have seen.

gavin6942 Miriam, a centuries-old vampire, preys on urban clubgoers with her vampire lover John. When John suddenly ages and wastes away, Miriam casts her spell upon Sarah, a doctor who researches premature aging.I figured with Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie, this had to be a home run. Deneuve is an incredible actress, and Bowie has had some impressive roles. And usually very quirky ones: alien, goblin king, Andy Warhol. But we did not get much of him here.I don't know if this was just trying to be too mainstream or what, but it was not what I was looking for, and was not super excited about it. In fact, I found it rather challenging to pay attention, which is no compliment.

ebiros2 The movie is bit unusual in that French, British, and American actors all share a starring role. The movie perhaps for that reason seems to be made to appeal to both American and European audiences. The tone of visuals are more like artsy European movies, but the plot that aging process is being scientifically investigated is kind of American science fiction-ish touch. The story is about vampirism, so there's erotic touch to the story. But the erotic touch is different from any other types of movie I've seen. It's gorgeous and seductive at the same time.All three leads, Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon looks fantastic in this movie. I've never seen any of them so beautiful before. It's really one of a kind movie performed by top notch actors at the height of their beauty, and is worth a watch7.5/10