The Hunger, 1983

I’ve finally made it through all the vampire films in this marathon. THANK THE DARK LORD! I wish I could say I’m ending this vampire trip with a banger, but alas, Tony Scott’s directorial debut The Hunger was, I hate to say it, annoying. I had high hopes for this one. Many horror fans and queer cinema fans adore it, but my viewing experience was unenjoyable at best. Not only is it quite thin and uninteresting thematically, several artistic choices were highly questionable. What was going on with the sound? This film is a misophoniac’s worst nightmare. There was so much aimless ticking and clicking, and at one point in the film, there was the sound of running water, but there was no water associated with the scene or the characters or even the dialogue. Why?? The queer moments in the film, which is why the film is even still talked about today, were very obviously crafted by a man with male audiences in mind. Let’s be real, women only wear heels during sex in porn for heterosexuals. Despite all its downsides, most people agree that one of the strongest elements of The Hunger is its casting. Michael D. Klemm of CinemaQueer.com writes:

“The Hunger succeeds mostly on the strength of its casting. Deneuve, a cherished lesbian icon since her films with Truffaut, solidified her femme appeal in The Hunger. Bowie is renowned for pushing the gay/bi envelope in his glam rock days as Ziggy Stardust, even though he later denied ever being really gay. Sarandan's sensuality had been used to great effect in films like Atlantic City and Pretty Baby, but to many she will always be remembered as Janet in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The presence of these actors brings an unusual sexual dynamic that would surely have been lacking in the hands of other performers.”

Klemm also agrees that the film is “incoherent” and has a particularly nonsensical ending. The film itself is loosely based off a novel of the same name by spiritualist Whitey Striebel. I hope the book is good because I wouldn’t recommend the film to anyone, no matter how famished you are for a queer vampire film. If I had to recommend watching one vampire film from this marathon (and really I would only recommend one), check out Dracula’s Daughter.