Hunger is, if you ask me, a perfect example of the modern "post Horror" genre. It's not your usual "psycho killer" Slasher sub-genre, nor is it another one of these films with a wanting plot and lots of blood of gore to make up for it. Instead, Hunger proves to be an outstanding and impressive work of art.
Very much like "The Divide", hunger is like a psychological (and in this case biological) study of human nature, and its breaking points. The idea behind it is original enough (though I did notice some aspects that we've seen in the Saw series) and the way it's presented is truly astonishing. There are some gore parts, but such that fit in perfectly with the plot and are not the main feature, not by far.
Screenwriter L.D. Goffigan has truly created a marvelous story which excels in it being gruesome and terrible, yet always in the boundaries of humanity (which might actually be the scariest and most disturbing). Director Steven Hentges has taken this amazing screenplay, and turned it into a fantastic film! The cinematography, the flashes, the excellent use of sound effects, the contrasting classical music used throughout the film - all fit together to make a very worthy product. The acting was also superb in every aspect.
I do have some criticism, though... The film slightly failed in portraying the physical condition of the human body when it is starved. The actors did appear sickly and slightly demented, but looking at them did not give the complete impression of a person during the process of starving to death. I guess there was no way to make them appear skinny and smaller, and still with such an impressive production such a shortcoming really shows. Also, the physical movements some of the characters were able to do were simply illogical, considering they were supposed to be weaken by hunger.
And yet, all in all, Hunger is truly a work of art, and the IMDb rating of 5.1 doesn't do it justice, not by far. It's not a "fun" film to watch, but it unnerves and shocks the viewers just like this type of Horror should. Hunger will appeal to all fans of modern Horror, especially those of psychological Horror (though it does lack any real twists) and even those of "torture porn", though it really isn't.
I was going to rate it 8, hesitated, and came to a decision that it was worthy of 9 (if only to increase its dreadfully unfair rating here). I strongly and highly recommend it to any Horror fan out there!
