Blood, Bowie and Bisexuals: The Hunger
Posted by Ms Harker | Filed under Horror Films
I treated my self to a horror trifecta on the weekend, watching three very different horror films on a lazy Sunday afternoon. But as night closed in I was in the mood for something a little left of centre, something daring, vampy and with a bit of raunch… I turned to ‘The Hunger‘.
Made in 1983 this was a neo-gothic blast from the past, with all the electronic synth, spandex and red/hot pink eye shadow you could handle opening with a suitably spiky long fringed singer in a nightclub, behind some type of cage, singing ‘Bell Lugosi is dead’. Promising beginning. Patiently observing the writhing post modern macabre pleather wrapped punks are a man and a woman, an art decoesque clad raven haired pair. Said pair are David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve, vampires on the hunt for some sexy snacks. Mind you the skanks they pick up are hilarious, I still haven’t figured out why all of them were wearing sunglasses… at night, and the dance the chick they pick up does against the wall is a drug addled mess. But all is forgiven, this is Bowie, as a vamp, meow!
The story is based upon these two characters John and Miriam. Miriam being the ‘maker’ whose undead journey commenced in Egyptian times. Miriam has a low tolerance for wandering the centuries alone and we discover has had many companions, John being the latest. However Miriam has eyes for another Sarah played by the sensual Susan Sarandon. Miriam’s motives are never really clear; does she have John or her own interests at the forefront. However this is the eighties, this is po-mo (post modern) horror people! Symbolism, gender and sexual ambiguity and plenty of the crimson flows as we watch Miriam work her charms on the beguiling Sarah.
“The Hunger’ is famous for its raunch. The history making erotic romp between Sarandon and Deneuve, which some believe is the only reason to watch the film, lives up to the hype. Over at ‘The Vault of Horror’ the two vixens were recently named in B_Sol’s ‘Horror’s Hottest Couples‘. I think this film has more to offer than just titillation. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for a little bisexual vampire romping and thoroughly enjoyed the vision of Denevue’s dainty french hand reaching down to cup a young Bowie’s ripe buttocks, or the sight of Sarandon reclining with her perky breasts going neither east nor west, wearing barely there panties.
‘The Hunger’ has a David Lynch feel to it, reminding me of ‘Blue Velvet‘, another film that features a European goddess, in this case Isabella Rossellini challenged by their sexual nature and a certain madness that lies within. Surrounded by contexts that expose the horror of not only the human condition but the ethics of sex and death. So drag out your pleather, don some shady glasses and anklet boots and immerse yourself in the debaucherous po-mo horror of ‘The Hunger’!
Ms Harker
Catherine Deneuve-Miriam
Tags: Horror, Horror Films, Vampire
7 Responses to “Blood, Bowie and Bisexuals: The Hunger”
-
Tenebrous Kate Says:
August 20th, 2009 at 10:25 pmI love this movie–LOVE it. You’re so spot-on about the story having so much more to offer than hott bisexual action (the value of which, as you so rightly state, is not to be diminished). I rewatched this recently and was struck by HOW effective the film is at creating a genuine sense of pathos around its characters. It’s such a tragic story, and its ambiguities serve to underscore both its sexiness and its sadness.
-
Ms Harker Says:
August 21st, 2009 at 5:23 pmIt is tragic and freaky, especially the ending… How cool is the poster with the red and angular shots of the seductive threesome?!?
-
Brian Says:
August 23rd, 2009 at 9:34 amI could overlook someone not knowing the “Flower Duet” from Delibes opera, Lakme, sung during the lesbian sex scene here, but not recognizing 80s goth band Bauhaus and their famous “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” makes this old man feel, well, OLD.
-
Ms Harker Says:
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:14 amWhat is this old business Brian? What rubbish! Do you have the track on vinyl? *wink*
-
Brian Says:
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:30 amThe thing is, Ms. Harker, you can’t be trusted to know (except in the biblical sense
“old”. I mean, c’mon, you’re a woman who’s got it bad for a Viking vampire! -
Ms Harker Says:
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:39 amLets not forget Bowie, definitely in the SOG (Sexy Old Guy) category… Now Eric is another story, I don’t think it counts as ‘old’ if your immortal, heheheh!
-
Musings Across A Continuum » Blog Archive » Vampiric Sexpots… you can’t handle all the lushness I have cause its so fanaglicious! Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am[...] twofold. Firstly they don’t appear to have gone beyond the nineties, with the exception of The Hunger, which is a sign of it being written by a youngling to the fold of darkness, or laziness. Two; how [...]
