Ravenous (1999)
A well-made film completely undercut by its soundtrack
One of my best friends (who by the providence of God ended up being my neighbor in a strange sequence of events) has great taste in movies, he’s narrowed my type of film down over the years and knows exactly what I like. We went through a phase at one point of hunting down films that deal with cannibalism from a non- Cannibal Holocaust inspired point of view. Bone Tomahawk and the 13th Warrior were two of the best films we found in the vein. We weren’t looking for historical accuracy or for the most gruesome depictions of cannibalism; we were hunting for films that dealt with one of the most horrific realities in a mythical way.
Many of the stories we grow up with deal with cannibalism. In Hansel and Gretel, the witch is planning to eat the children. In Jack and the Beanstalk, the giant humanoid ogre is hunting for Jack because he loves the taste of human flesh. The Seneca tribe told their children of Hagondes, a cannibal clown that would kidnap and eat the children if they misbehaved. Cannibal tales for children are almost ever-present in the myths of nearly every society. As a Catholic, I consume the flesh of Christ every Sunday (and whenever else I can make it to mass). Martyr Made did a fantastic series on the subject of cannibalism that I highly recommend.
As an adult, the true stories of cannibal tribes or depraved serial killers are still a bit terrifying. My wife gets nauseous thinking about it. Normie women, however, seem to find serial killer stories (including those featuring cannibalism) quite titillating in more ways than one. There is some quality to cannibalism that makes it nauseating, and simultaneously alluring from the comfort of one’s couch. It lives in the imagination of every human. Parents tell their fat little babies that they’re so cute that they could “eat them up”, when we chase our kids, we joke that we are going to eat them. Children find this hilarious, even before they can speak. My son thought it was hilarious when, at only a few months old, I would pretend to eat him.
Growing up in Northern California, a child will at some point be educated about the pioneers. If you grow up in Eastern California, and probably in Western Nevada, the Donner Party features heavily in the story. Not due to any parent or teacher’s particular focus on the story, but because the tale is so horrifying. Taking the Oregon trail out of the Midwest in 1846, the ill-fated Donner Party followed a newly founded route through the Sierra Nevada mountain range and ended up stuck near Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) through the winter. In order to survive, some of the party ate human flesh.
When I was in high school, we took a field trip to Donner Summit, a bit of a morbid place to take a bunch of idiot high schoolers. It’s a beautiful place when you aren’t stuck there in winter without food. Here’s a photo I found online below that really captures its Sierran appeal.
The film captures much of the beauty and felling of Northwestern forests, despite the fact that it was filmed in Slovakia. The film combines the myth of the Wendigo with the story of Alfred Packer, and is heavily influenced by the history of the Donner Party. The film’s hero is a coward and accidental cannibal sent to a small outpost in the Western Sierra Nevadas after his “heroic” actions in the Mexican American war. Eventually, the party meets a strange man, half-dead, who claims that his party took refuge in a cave before one of the members began to eat the others. The soldiers of the outpost then prepare to do what must be done.
The hero of the story isn’t terribly likeable. He is a coward, and the movies gives you a few other potential heroes who are far more masculine, leaving you almost disappointed that he is our hero. This actually makes the movie more interesting. The plot is very well written; it’s a fantastic story. The cinematography is beautiful. The effects are fantastic. The acting is great. So, why did the movie bomb so badly? Why do so few remember it?
I contend that the movie bombed because the soundtrack is insane. Much of the soundtrack is written by Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz fame. The soundtrack uses lots of looped banjo riffs, that are far from technically impressive for banjo players. It is an extremely goofy soundtrack and undercuts most of the movie. It left my friend and I wondering whether we were supposed to be laughing with the movie or at it. It is so idiosyncratic, and so contrary to the attitude of the film that I imagine those who went to see the film at the time were left confused and befuddled.
I have to say that I do recommend this movie. It is enjoyable, and it is extremely interesting. The potential viewer, however, must prepare himself to be thrown off by the music. If I had the rights to this movie, I would release a second version with an entirely different and more suitable soundtrack. If you end up watching it I would love to hear what you think. Thanks for reading.