I first saw this on a VHS. Revisited it recently on a blu ray. This movie seemed to have come up with a unique and interesting angle to the usual cannibal story. Captain Boyd (Guy Pearce) is assigned a post at the remote Fort Spencer in the wilderness inspite of defeating the enemy command as it was an act of cowardice that got him there. The others at the fort are two Indians, three private soldiers , one Major n one Colonel. When a stranger (Carlyle) 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 three people stay behind. The Indian warns that since the stranger (Carlyle) admits to eating human flesh, he must be a Windigo, a ravenous cannibalistic creature. Cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond captured the striking imagery of vast, snowy landscapes very well. U r transported to the snow-covered peaks of the landscape of the Sierra Nevada wilderness circa 1847. The quirky, versatile score also stands out. The acting is phenomenal, especially by Carlyle n Pearce. Ives (the cannibalistic wendigo) is one of the best villain brought to screen. One of the best part of this movie is that its not at all predictable.

RAVENOUS is a historical comedy horror set on the American frontier in the 19th century. It's a world of extreme cold, snow, hardship and cannibalism, as those trapped in remote outposts are driven to feast on the flesh of one another in order to survive. It's an interesting film for sure, but also one that's all over the place tonally.I understand that the film's original director quit for whatever reason, so Robert Carlyle suggested Antonia Bird for the role. Bird and Carlyle had previously worked together on the excellent low budget British crime film FACE, so the choice seemed a good one, but I'm not sure that Bird was quite right for this material. Although RAVENOUS is extremely gory, it's never in the least bit horrific, while the attempts at black comedy aren't all that successful.Instead what we have is an action-focused story of survival, loaded with gore effects and general nastiness. RAVENOUS is worth watching thanks to the sterling efforts of a great little cast, headlined by Guy Pearce back when he was just starting out in Hollywood. Robert Carlyle makes for a great psychotic bad guy as always, and the casting director has done a good job for interesting character actors: the creepy Jeffrey Jones, Neal McDonough, and Jeremy Davies. The less said about David Arquette the better, though.

Before watching Ravenous, it probably helps for you to know that the impression of this film given by marketing is inaccurate. It appears to be a horror and a thriller but, while it does contain some guts and suspense, the film is much more than a generic horror. Ravenous has elements of adventure and some black comedy in quirky moments, more so in the first half, and thrills that are more-so concept and emotionally based rather than cheap adrenalin. The point is that it's a bad idea going into this film because you heard it was a picking-off-the-victims "gore-fest".The film begins with events following soon after the Mexican-American War where Second Lieutenant (John) Boyd (Guy Pearce) is struggling after letting his unit down while they are massacred. He stumbled into the Mexican headquarters and, in a bout of bravery, managed to capture enemy command from within. He is haunted by images and flashbacks of the mass of deaths and aggression he has witnessed. Boyd is promoted to Captain for his heroism, but his commanding officer discovers the cowardly truth of this victory. Boyd is exiled to Fort Spencer in the Sierra Nevada. Boyd settles in with 7 interesting residents of Fort Spencer. Soon they're all introduced to a man who shows up in the night weak and injured. He proceeds to explain to them a disturbing account of his group turning to cannibalism having him flee in fear of his life and the Spencer team setting off with him venturing back in obligation to the cave which he has fled to save a woman he admits he has left alone in danger.Apart from the events that take place in the film, the situation John Boyd finds himself in is a reflection of honest morality with a front focus on temptation and the will power not to give in. It is really a matter of opinion whether this is appealing, which is is for me, but it really doesn't hurt for one to open their mind.Ravenous can get you to think if you let it do so.

Come on now miraculously surviving deep puncture wounds, severe gun shot wounds, 1 moment almost completely bled out, the next complete healed no wound at all. There has been cases where stranded out in the wilderness members dying of malnutrition, frost bite, dehydration, etc., and surviving members had to eat the dead to survive they did not acquire such unbelievable healing powers, nor did they turn ravenous over eating human flesh.Movie just a little too hokey in my opinion. Unbelievably stupid, unbelievably stupid, unbelievably stupid, unbelievably stupid, etc., etc., etc..