The Hunger (1983)

Synopsis

The movie The Hunger (1983) centers on a love triangle between a doctor who specializes in sleep and aging research and a vampire couple.

Miriam and John are an elegant vampire couple living in New York City. To sustain their immortality, they must feed on human blood. However, John begins rapidly aging after centuries of youth. Seeking help, Miriam takes John to Dr. Sarah Roberts, who is intrigued by his condition.

The movie The Hunger (1983) shows Miriam entering into a tense relationship with Sarah as they try understanding what is happening to John. Sarah becomes infatuated with the beguiling Miriam. Meanwhile, John’s health deteriorates until Miriam locks him in a coffin to die.

After rejecting Miriam’s advances, Sarah returns home to find her apartment filled with centuries of Miriam’s past lovers, now mummified but alive. Their fate will be Sarah’s if she does not accept Miriam’s dark gift. Desperate to be normal, Sarah asks for Miriam’s help but learns there is no cure for her vampirism.

In the end, the movie The Hunger (1983) concludes with Sarah giving in to her vampire instincts and beginning an endless journey with Miriam after realizing she can never go back to her human life.

Cast

  • Catherine Deneuve as Miriam Blaylock
  • David Bowie as John Blaylock
  • Susan Sarandon as Dr. Sarah Roberts
  • Cliff De Young as Tom Haver
  • Dan Hedaya as Lieutenant Allegrezza

Trivia

The opening scene of the couple stalking club goers was completely improvised by Deneuve and Bowie.

Real footage of a bowhead whale being dissected was used in Sarah’s lab.

The book Sarah is seen reading is the real-life study Sleep by Dr. Aleksandr Kouprin.

Reviews

New York Times Review

Roger Ebert Review

Citations

[1] Wikipedia: The Hunger (1983 film)

[2] IMDB: The Hunger (1983)

[3] Rotten Tomatoes: The Hunger

Last updated byAnonymous on November 1, 2023