Looking into Classic Vampire Movies: Part Three ‘The Hunger’ (1983)

“Nothing Human Loves Forever”

In our final installment of our three part look into classic vampire movies (part one is here and part two is here), PopHorror travels all the way back to 1983 with The Hunger, a horror cult classic with elements of mythology, blood lust and romance. In this bloody erotic film, a vampire leaves a legacy of dying lovers in her wake and is left with nothing but loneliness, death and betrayal.

The Hunger is about an ageless Egyptian vampire queen named Miriam who feeds on the blood of her victims, leaving a trail of death in her path. Her once mortal consort, John, is facing the end of his immortality as his life fades away minute by minute after a two hundred year lifespan. They go to great lengths to frantically try and find a cure, finally seek the aid of a scientist. With a sudden turn on John, Miriam betrays him by seducing the scientist and turning her.

The Hunger was released in 1983 and was directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun 1986). The screenplay was written by Ivan Davis and Michael Thomas. The movie stars David Bowie (Labyrinth 1986), Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise 1991) and Catherine Deneuve (Dancer in the Dark 2000).

The film has a memorable opening with “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus, starting things off rich in Gothic atmosphere. Along with the poetic use of music, the direction has a dream-like quality with erotic and artistic undertones. The visual effects are classic, and the make-up effects are absolutely fantastic, drawing you in to the heartbreaking experience of death and decay on a rapid rate.

This art house horror was first a novel written by Whitley Streiber and the big screen adaption was a cinematic masterpiece. The Hunger is the first vampire movie to include Egyptian mythology and the use of the Ankh.

Trivia Time

• The Hunger became a cult classic after its release in 1983.
• MGM Studios changed the film’s ending to allow the possibility of sequels in future, which is something common in the horror film genre. However, no such sequel was ever made.
• Although this is a vampire movie, the word ‘vampire’ is never uttered.
• In order to make his voice suitably hoarse for when he aged so drastically in the movie, David Bowie stood on the George Washington Bridge every night and screamed all the punk rock songs he knew.

 

Love this cult classic? Let us know in the comments and be sure to add it in your ’80s collections.