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Ravenous movie storyline. Captain John Boyd receives a promotion after defeating the enemy command in a battle of the Mexican-American War, but because the general realizes it was an act of cowardice that got him there, he is given a backhanded promotion to Fort Spencer, where he is third in command.
The others at the fort are two Indians, George and his sister, Martha, who came with the place, Chaplain Toffler, Reich, the soldier; Cleaves, a drugged-up cook; and Knox, who is frequently drunk. When a Scottish stranger named Colquhoun appears and recovers from frostbite almost instantly after being bathed, he tells a story about his party leader, Ives, eating members of the party to survive.
As part of their duty, they must go up to the cave where this occurred to see if any have survived. Only Martha, Knox, and Cleaves stay behind. George warns that since Colquhoun admits to eating human flesh, he must be a Windigo, a ravenous cannibalistic creature.
Ravenous is a 1999 black comedy horror-suspense film directed by Antonia Bird and starring Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeffrey Jones and David Arquette. The film revolves around cannibalism in 1840s California and some elements bear similarities to the story of the Donner Party and that of Alferd Packer. Screenwriter Ted Griffin lists Packer’s story, as recounted in a couple of paragraphs of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man, as one of his inspirations for Carlyle’s character.
The film’s darkly humorous and ironic take on its gruesome subject matter have led some to label it simply as a black comedy or a satire. The film’s unique score by Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn generated a significant amount of attention. The film’s production did not get off to a good start. Original director Milcho Manchevski left the production three weeks after shooting started. He was replaced by Bird at the suggestion of Carlyle.
Ravenous (1999)
Directed by: Antonia Bird
Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Jeremy Davies, John Spencer, Neal McDonough, Sheila Tousey, Joseph Runningfox, Fernando Becerril
Screenplay by: Ted Griffin
Production Design by: Bryce Perrin
Cinematography by: Anthony B. Richmond
Film Editing by: Neil Farrell
Costume Design by: Sheena Napier
Set Decoration by: Jiri Zucek
Art Direction by: Marco Niro, Adam O’Neill, Ricardo Spinacé, Karel Vacek
Music by: Damon Albarn, Michael Nyman
MPAA Rating: R for considerable gore and strong violence.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: March 19, 1999
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