[9]

It’d be easy to write off Ravenous as a bungled misfire, but if it is one, it sure is an interesting one. The end result is a pitch-black comedy about cannibalism set in 1847 at a remote outpost in the Sierra Nevadas. The tone of the film is hard for some to swallow (how punny), but from the opening quotation (“Eat me. – Anonymous”) and quirky plucking of Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn’s score, you should really know precisely how to take this deranged little movie.

Director Antonia Bird (who replaced another director two weeks into shooting) makes an interesting brew of her odd ingredients — polished production design and wardrobe worthy of Merchant Ivory, a fine cast headlined by Guy Pierce and Robert Carlyle, a screenplay inspired by The Third Man, and one of the most bizarre and interesting musical scores of the past few decades. Even though the film teeters on comedy, there are some legitimately suspenseful and horrifying moments, as well as a good twist or two. Jeffrey Jones, David Arquette, and Jeremy Davies are good in supporting roles.