Hungry
review by Bobby Blakey
There is something always more fun and terrifying when violence is caused by a real animal as opposed to a monster. One of the most dangerous animals on the planet is the hippo and have always wondered why we haven’t gotten more films with them wreaking havoc. That has all changed with the latest film Hungry starring Maddison Davenport, Olivia Bernstone, Tracey Bonner, Jimi Meskimen, Samantha Coughlan, River Codak, Michel Curiel, and Joaquim de Almeida from One Shot, One More Shot and Wildcat director James Nunn. Could this film bring the dangers of Hungry, Hungry Hippos to life or will it be a child’s game not worth playing?
Hungry follows thrill-seeking tourists on a riverboat tour through the treacherous Louisiana swamplands. Lured off the beaten path by the promise of an exclusive adventure, they soon find themselves fighting for survival against a ravenous hippopotamus lurking beneath the bayou’s murky waters. Set in a mysterious and dangerous landscape, HUNGRY is a tense survival thriller about an impossible battle with one of nature’s deadliest predators.
First up, despite my silly joke and the leaning into the knowledge of the child’s famed game, this film has nothing to do with that. Instead, it’s more like the film Anaconda in almost every way, which isn’t an issue but wish they had leaned into the over-the-top nature a lot more for it to really deliver. This doesn’t make it a bad flick as it is pretty fun at times especially when the hippo is in full on rampage, but they just don’t give us enough of that.
The story is simple and just enough to get everyone on the swamp boat which ass you really need with this film. None of the characters stand out all that much or bring anything to the table to elevate the story, but they work fine. The film tends
to spend too much time focusing on these characters blabbing about nothing and not enough time getting to the hippo chaos which is why we are all here. Had there been a bigger story here to tell then maybe it would be necessary, but it felt more like just filler and tried to take itself too seriously instead of just having fun with it all.
It takes its time revealing the hippo itself and does a good job building to the eventually reveal. It would have been awesome not knowing at all what is coming as it would have blown your mind when a hippo suddenly rises out of the Bayou swamp on a rampage. When we finally get to see it full on it looks excellent and wreaks havoc all around. It is cool and menacing, making you wish you had gotten a lot more of it than you actually do. Big props to the effects teams as all the CGI of the hippo looks outstanding with only a small fire effect that looks a bit cheesy in the finale act.
In the end it is a film that works well enough to entertain but could have been so much better. The hippo chaos and visual is enough to make the film worth checking out and will hopefully spawn more killer hippo flicks that we all deserve.
Decide for yourself and check out Hungry available now on DVD from Aura Entertainment.