When a friend of mine raved about the movie Ravenous and offered to lend me a copy, I was a little skeptical. A film about cannibals didn't really excite me, but he pressed the DVD into my hands one day and urged me to watch it. My Significant Other and I were hanging around the apartment one afternoon and, with nothing better to do, popped the movie in the machine.

The film is about a supposed war hero in the 1800's, played by Guy Pearce, who is ashamed of being a coward. He's reassigned to a fort in a remote and cold part of California where he runs into the only survivor (Robert Carlisle) of a wagon train who escaped from an evil cannibal. Pearce's character is called upon to help investigate the possibility that one of the other members of the wagon train might be alive and discovers something disturbing about himself in the process. The film takes one twist and turn after another until a gruesome but fascinating ending.

Guy Pearce is deadpan throughout the whole film, a performance I'd have chalked up to bad acting if I hadn't seen him in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Robert Carlisle is amazing, and David Arquette, who plays a bit role, is entertaining (although why he's billed as one of the stars of the film for a performance that included six lines of dialogue and three scenes is beyond me).

Language in the film is moderate and there is no sex and only a tiny bit of nudity. The film is a bit violent and some of the themes might be disturbing to viewers, but if you can stomach a little gore and talk of cannibalism this is a great borderline-horror flick to curl up in front of with a bowl of popcorn in hand.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age