Ravenous (1999)

In a remote military outpost in the 19th century, Captain John Boyd and his regiment embark on a rescue mission which takes a dark turn when they are ambushed by a sadistic cannibal.

Director:

Antonia Bird

Writer:

Ted Griffin

Stars:

Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Guy Pearce	...	Capt. John Boyd
Robert Carlyle	...	Col. Ives / F.W. Colqhoun
David Arquette	...	Pvt. Cleaves
Jeremy Davies	...	Pvt. Toffler
Jeffrey Jones	...	Col. Hart
John Spencer	...	Gen. Slauson
Stephen Spinella	...	Knox
Neal McDonough	...	Pvt. Reich
Joseph Runningfox	...	George (as Joseph Running Fox)
Bill Brochtrup	...	Lindus
Sheila Tousey	...	Martha
Fernando Becerril	...	Mexican Commander
Gabriel Berthier	...	Mexican Commander
Pedro Altamirano	...	Mexican Commander
Joseph Boyle	...	U.S. Blonde Soldier

Storyline

Captain John Boyd receives a promotion after defeating the enemy command in a battle of the Mexican-American War, but because the general realizes it was an act of cowardice that got him there, he is given a backhanded promotion to Fort Spencer, where he is third in command. The others at the fort are two Indians, George and his sister, Martha, who came with the place, Chaplain Toffler, Reich, the soldier; Cleaves, a drugged-up cook; and Knox, who is frequently drunk. When a Scottish stranger named Colquhoun appears and recovers from frostbite almost instantly after being bathed, he tells a story about his party leader, Ives, eating members of the party to survive. As part of their duty, they must go up to the cave where this occurred to see if any have survived. Only Martha, Knox, and Cleaves stay behind. George warns that since Colquhoun admits to eating human flesh, he must be a Windigo, a ravenous cannibalistic creature.

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Plot Keywords:

mexican american war | cannibalism | cannibal | homoeroticism | u.s. frontier | 

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Taglines:

Survival is the only option.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for considerable gore and strong violence

Details

Country:

Czech Republic UK USA Mexico

Language:

English Italian Spanish Washoe

Release Date:

19 March 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vorace

Filming Locations:

Tatranska National Park, Tatra Mountains, Slovakia

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,040,727, 21 March 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$2,060,953, 2 May 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

ETIC Films, Engulf & Devour Productions Inc., Fox 2000 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Partially, and very loosely, inspired by the "Donner Party" disaster of 1847.

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Goofs

The surname of Friedrich Nietzsche is misspelled at the beginning of the film as "Nietzche".

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Quotes

Ives: If you die first, I am definitely going to eat you, but the question is, if I die, what are you going to do? Bon appétit... Eat or die.

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Crazy Credits

The film begins with a famous quote by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): "He that fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster." Nietzsche's surname is misspelled as 'Nietzche'. Shortly after, a comedic quote appears below Nietzsche's: "Eat Me" - Anonymous.

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Alternate Versions

Finnish video version is cut by 58 seconds.

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Connections

References Cannibal! The Musical (1993)

User Reviews

"It's what's for dinner..."

This is an exceedingly well-made film which, in its portrayal of cannabalism, suggests other themes as well: physical and moral courage and cowardice, exploitation of other people, the evils of carnivorousness...

Taut-faced, moody Lt. John Boyd (Guy Pearce) turns yellow under fire in the Mexican War, but somehow manages to accidentally capture an enemy command post. He is rewarded with a medal, a promotion to Captain, and a transfer to a lonely outpost in the western Sierra Nevada range in California by a commanding officer who sees the cowardice behind the supposed heroism. There, a disheveled stranger (Robert Carlyle, doing his best Rasputin impersonation) stumbles into the post, telling a horrible tale of snowbound travellers in a wagon train feeding on each other when their food runs out. The affable C.O. (Jeffrey Jones, looking as seedy as you might expect an officer in a California outpost in the 1840's to look) decides to investigate, leading his small band of soldiers to a horrible destiny. Jeremy Davies, who played the nerdy corporal in "Saving Private Ryan" also appears, playing pretty much the same character.

All the parts in this movie were excellent - all the performances were outstanding, the photography and editing were great, and the score was amazing. However, although I really enjoyed this movie, it didn't add up as be the great film it should have been. Much of the time, I felt as if I should have been really scared and nervous, but I found myself watching with some detachment, almost as if I were watching a ball game between two teams I wasn't really rooting for.

I don't want the reader to think I didn't like this movie, though. It was really good. It just wasn't outstanding, that's all.

I did like Sheila Tousey as Martha, the Native American woman who lived and worked at the outpost. She was really cute in a sort of Earth Mother kind of way.