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Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones, John Spencer ... see more see more... , Stephen Spinella , Neal McDonough , David Arquette

In 1847, many Americans made the journey across our continent in search of gold. Many failed to complete the journey or see their dreams come to light. Capt. John Boyd (Guy Pearce) found his way here ... read more read more...thanks to an act of cowardice during the Mexican-American War; he has been banished to a desolate military outpost in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Upon his arrival, he is greeted by a rag-tag group of soldiers manning the fort: Hart (Jeffrey Jones), the despondent commanding officer; Toffler (Jeremy Davies), the company chaplain; Knox (Stephen Spinella), the drunken doctor; Reich (Neal McDonough), the only real soldier of the group; and Cleaves (David Arquette), the heavily medicated camp cook. One day, Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle) stumbles into their camp. The half-starved Scotsman had been traveling with a group of settlers until they were snowbound. Unable to move forward, they took refuge in a cave, where once they ran out of food, they were forced to resort to cannibalism. Colqhoun barely escaped the madness -- or did he? Boyd and the soldiers hear of the old Indian legend of the Wendigo, which states a man who tastes the flesh of another steals that man's strength, spirit and essence. His hunger, however, will become an unstoppable craving. Like a vampire, the more he eats, the more he wants, and the stronger he will become, with death the only escape from the madness. The soldiers are soon drawn into the frenzy and Boyd is soon left with the choice of eating or being eaten. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

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77% liked it

20,348 ratings

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37% liked it

38 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Antonia Bird

Release Date: March 19, 1999

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DVD Release Date: December 18, 2001

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Stats: 1,580 reviews

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Colonel Ives and Captian Boyd Ravenous Promo Captain Boyd Colonel Ives & Captian Boyd Colqwoun/ Ives Robert Carlyle as Col. Ives Ravenous Wallpaper Ravenous Ravenous Ravenous
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Flixster Reviews (1,580)

  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    January 8, 2012
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "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."

    Captain John Boyd's promotion stations him at a fort where a rescued man tells a disturbing tale of cannibalism.

    ... read more+2 face="Century Schoolbook">REVIEW
    Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce) has just arrived at Fort Spencer, a "reward" of sorts for his display of cowardice during the Spanish-American war. The fort is manned by a drunk, a pothead, a Native American woman and her brother, a goofy young chaplain, a nonchalant Colonel and a half-crazed soldier named Reich. Shortly after Boyd's arrival, a frostbitten man appears one night out of the snowstorm and is taken in. After a quick and miraculous recovery, the man, a Scotsman name of Colqhoun, tells a harrowing tale. He and a party of five others had been stranded in a snow storm and took refuge in a cave. When their food ran out, they turned to cannibalism. Colquhoun claims to have escaped before he too could be eaten. The men of Fort Spencer quickly mobilize and, guided by Colqhoun, they head off to search for survivors. But, too late, they discover that there are no survivors. Colqhoun is a ravenous cannibal, and may possibly be a mythical beast called Wendigo. Only the cowardly Boyd survives the bloody ambush...but will he conquer the cannibal, or join him?

    This is a bitterly black comedy, a weird combination of the Donner Party tragedy, the legend of Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean and the 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead with its comments on consumerism. This film did poorly at the box office due to bad advertising, which is a shame because it's a very well made, well acted and well scripted movie with a cleverly insane soundtrack to boot. Everyone delivers quirky, standout performances, especially Robert Carlyle as the cannibal, playing him as an unhinged Charles Manson type one moment and a cultured, elegant gentleman the next. His performance is totally riveting and shockingly funny at times. The humor in this movie will not be to everyone's taste (no pun intended). It is still a movie about cannibalism and features some bloody, gross-out gore, so be warned. But, if you have a strong stomach and a sick sense of humor, you won't want to miss this film.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    A completely psychotic take on the windigo story. The cannibal aspect was really interesting and made the story all the more creepy. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle were great, especially their scenes together. The music was really different, but went well with the tone of the film.
  • kiriyamakazou
    July 13, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Bizarre in it's tone and execution, Ravenous is either an original gem or an interesting mess. I really think my love of B-Movies helped me appreciate some of the stranger aspects of this film. Most obvious is the music, it's not exactly horror or thriller material, but with an o... read moredd subject such as cannibalism it kind of suits the tone. Pearce and Carlyle are fantastic, grasping hold of their broken distorted characters and engaging in a wide range of tactics to both pull you in and then push you away. The twists aren't impossible to see coming, but they are well placed and enjoyable to watch unfold. It's a film I'd only recommend to people that enjoy "different" cinema.
  • 76Majikat
    March 9, 2009
    76Majikat
    I?d like to be able to say after you bear with the frustratingly dull first hour, it then goes on to become a great film, when in fact it does lift slightly, but only in comparison to the first part. The oddly placed humour can often go amiss, but then there are laughable moment... read mores when there shouldn't be.
  • puffchunk
    January 15, 2008
    puffchunk
    A movie about humans showing vampire and zombie qualities. They can eat people and it heals them and makes them strong. Good cast and fun, while being pretty gross. I especially liked the Guy Pearce/Robert Carlyle bear trap sandwich at the end.
  • DrZeek
    November 7, 2007
    DrZeek
    Knox: What are you cooking?
    Ives: It's, uh... stew.
    Knox: Need any help?
    Ives: No, no, no. Perhaps later you might... contribute.

    Very interesting and entertaining black comedy/ horror film about cannibalism, set during the 1840s.

    It involves a soldier, Guy Pearce, outcasted ... read moreinto the Sierra Nevadas, after a sordid affair during battle. Upon arriving at the fort and meeting the people there, a mysterious man, Robert Carlyle, arrives one night, informing people of a gruesome story resulting in the eating of some unsavory meats. Not before long, a few twists occur, revealing the full details of his story.

    This is the perfect kind of cult movie. It has quirky characters, a strange soundtrack and all sorts of weird things going on. The supporting cast is fun and there is a lot of gore, but the idea of having a dark comedy aspect to this somber story makes it so much more intriguing.

    Its the perfect kind of movie to stumble upon on DVD. It was obviously a hard sell for theaters; a period piece about cannibalism with no love story, but it can easily find an audience for those seeking out something more unique.

    Pvt. Toffler: He was licking me!
  • allan913
    October 30, 2007
    allan913
    A thrilling and chilling adventure. Spellbinding, stylish and heart-pounding. Twistedly original and brilliant. Shocking and exhilerating. A unique horror story that mixes action, suspense and reality. Lots of gore and energy. A well-crafted and provocative film. It creeps under ... read moreyour skin like you wouldnt belive. Terifying, darkly funny and endlessly gripping. Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle give riveting performances. Their characters are so complex and tormented. But all works out into one leathal, intense and bloody showdown at the end.
  • superclerk25
    September 1, 2007
    superclerk25
    I like it but I thought most of the music was terrible for this movie. It seemed way out of place and distracted me from what was going on. It was an interesting story and the character that was played by Guy Pearce was well done.
    On the same note I thought Robert Carlyle playe... read mored an excellent villain in the movie and I would think his performance would be on a top villain list somewhere.
  • matertenebraum
    August 26, 2007
    matertenebraum
    If someone were to ask what Ravenous is all about, the easiest thing to say would be: `It's about cannibalism in a remote Army outpost in the 1800s.' That's exactly right, and that's probably what kept audience members away from Ravenous when it briefly ran in theaters back in 19... read more99. Cannibalism? Who needs to watch that? Indeed.

    Yes, there is cannibalism in Ravenous. Quite a lot of it, in fact. The film is steeped in murder, the eating of human flesh, and is flavored with madness. At times the film can be downright difficult to watch, though the compelling nature of the narrative keeps the viewer's eyes locked on the screen for the full ninety-eight minutes.

    Ravenous is so much more than a meditation on people eating other people, though it's obvious there was a great deal of confusion about how exactly to present this dish to the public. Its plot is fairly simple for the first half: Mexican War hero (and hidden coward) Lt. Boyd, played by LA Confidential's Guy Pearce, is assigned to an end-of-the-Earth fortress in the western Sierra Nevadas. This fort, populated over the winter by a tiny handful of misfit officers and enlisted men, receives a visitor in the person of a starving man with an awful story of a failed mountain crossing that eclipses the Donner Party's. What happens then is so twisted, but skillfully crafted, that it would be criminal to spoil what transpires.

    But Ravenous is not just a horror story. What lies at its heart is an allegory about man's relationship to other men and how society structures itself around the powerful and the powerless. Issues such as the morality of Manifest Destiny and even the ethics of simple meat eating are touched upon. Guy Pearce gives an underplayed performance so low-key that he almost vanishes into the film stock, while co-star Robert Carlyle (most recently in The World is Not Enough) plays opposite him with delightful nuance. The material even brings deeply textured work out of Tim Burton stalwart Jeffrey Jones as the commander of the fort, and scattered around these three are solid supporting actors like Jeremy Davies, who's much better here than he was in Saving Private Ryan, and David Arquette.

    If anything works against Ravenous at all, it's the curious inclusion of humor at the outset of the picture. Director Antonia Bird, who also made Priest and Safe, is not known for her lighter side, which makes the appearance of a goofy epigram at the very start of the picture, and the use of some bizarrely inappropriate music during a later sequence, seem more like some producer's half-hearted attempt to blunt the sharp edge of the film's commentary with silliness.

    Luckily for the viewer and the film, however, Ravenous is far too powerful a motion picture to be undercut in this fashion. By the time the final reel has passed, any memory of earlier missteps is forgotten as the pace grows more deliberate and the action becomes bloodier and bloodier up until the final moments.

    Unjustly neglected on the screen, Ravenous is a film with a great deal to say. It's only too bad that cannibalism was the best way to say it.
  • thefog1331
    August 9, 2007
    thefog1331
    Part horror movie, part thriller and part historical film mixed with some very black humor and the American-Indian legend of the Wendigo to boot, makes for a strange but highly enjoyable cannibalistic romp through the Mid-1800's. It takes its time to get going but once it does it... read more hardly ever lets up. Top-notch performances by Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle plus a wonderful and memorable score.

View All Ravenous Reviews

Critic Reviews

Betty Jo Tucker
October 31, 2010
Betty Jo Tucker, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Director Antonia Bird and screenwriter Ted Griffin stir up an extremely unsavory concoction about cannibalism here. Full Review

Jeffrey Westhoff
December 23, 2005
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

The plot begins brazenly, but the story becomes more conventional (though no less bloody) as it goes along.

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 23, 2003
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

A terrifically well-made gory horror movie with splashes of humor. Full Review

Philip Martin
December 8, 2002
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

...one of those rare, genuinely subversive (of Hollywood values) films, like Beyond the Valley of the Dolls or Eating Raoul

Chuck Rudolph
April 30, 2001
Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine

The one movie of 1999 that looks and feels like nothing you've seen before. Full Review

Andrew Howe
April 2, 2001
Andrew Howe, eFilmCritic.com

If you take it with a truckload of salt you may just find something of merit. Full Review

Kevin Lally
January 1, 2000
Kevin Lally, Film Journal International

It's too arty for the genre gang, and too grim for the art crowd, and its tone wavers uncertainly between quirky comedy and blunt violence. Full Review

Widgett Walls
January 1, 2000
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

It'll be on cable soon enough--wait for it and you'll thank me. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2000
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of being overstuffed and undercooked at the same time. Full Review

David N. Butterworth
January 1, 2000
David N. Butterworth, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Without a doubt the best -- and possibly only -- period cannibal horror comedy ever made! Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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  • Guy Pearce & Robert Carlyle as cannibals?  Answer »
  • He smashed pint glasses over heads in Trainspotting and ate people in Ravenous.  Answer »
  • Who is the star actor in the movie Ravenous?  Answer »
  • I was in Howard the Duck, Transylvania 6-5000, Beetle Juice, Who's Harry Crumb, Ravenous, Sleepy Hollow (1999) and, my voice can be found in some Invader Zim episodes. Who am I?   Answer »
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