Synopsis
Miriam Blaylock, an ageless vampire, collects Renaissance art, ancient Egyptian pendants, lovers, and souls in Manhattan.
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Cast
- Catherine DeneuveMiriam Blaylock
- David BowieJohn Blaylock
- Susan SarandonSarah Roberts
- Cliff DeYoungTom Haver
- Beth EhlersAlice Cavender
- Dan HedayaLieutenant Allegrezza
- Rufus CollinsCharlie Humphries
- Suzanne BertishPhyllis
- James AubreyRon
- Ann MagnusonYoung Woman from Disco
- 80
The New York Times
What makes The Hunger so much fun is its knowing stylishness, which Mr. Scott, who makes his theatrical film debut here, has brought to movies from a career in commercials and documentaries. - 70
Variety
The Hunger [from the novel by Whitley Strieber] is all visual and aural flash, although this modern vampire story looks so great, as do its three principal performers, and is so bizarre that it possesses a certain perverse appeal. - 60
Time Out
Visual sensualities will have a feast, but you'll have to read Whitley Strieber's novel if you don't want to emerge with a badly scratched head. - 50
Austin Chronicle
The Hunger is typically Tony Scott -- more style than substance, and perhaps simply an excuse to get Denueve and Susan Sarandon, Miriam's post-Bowie love, in bed together. - 50
Chicago Reader
The obsessive conjunction of lesbian sex and flowing blood suggests a deep-seated misogyny, but neither this nor any other theme is registered with enough clarity to offend. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
A slick, largely empty visual exercise with vague thematic overtones about a clash between American and European culture. The Deneuve/Sarandon sex scene, however, is not to be missed by fans of either actress. - 50
Slant Magazine
Scott’s film scarcely has its pulse on the encroaching conservatism of the nation. In the end, it’s just a shallow lesbian fantasy so aggressively spit and polished as to suggest a 96-minute White Diamonds commercial. Of course, that’s not to say that it isn’t fun. - 50
Miami Herald
An almost-horror film called The Hunger has in common with Flashdance an apparent obsession with style over other considerations, and the result, though weird, is no more satisfying. [02 May 1983, p.C6]