Hunger (I) (2009)
4/10
Gruesome, but on the whole rather boring
1 October 2012
Awakening to find themselves trapped in an underground bunker with no way out, a group of people finds themselves subjected to an experiment in food deprivation to determine the effects of hunger on a person, and begin slowly losing their humanity the longer they stay involved in the situation.

As a pretty dismal and really uneven entry, this one doesn't have all that much going for it. One of the few positive aspects here is the rather appealing setup of the madman who has a legitimate quest in place. The effects of starvation and hunger on a human body serves as a solid enough premise and offers up the kind of disturbing start here that's got the potential for a much creepier film than it really provided in the end. The ability to explore the kind of human psyche probing that goes into this kind of genre effort is a rich and potentially exploitative feature which really could've given this a lot more substance as the long-term effects are quite intriguing work that the film utilizes. While it does have some grisly, realistic violence and gore shown here, the fact that this is more of a human psyche study than an out-and-out carving up of the human body, it's not as suspenseful, chilling or even creepy as it stands and really only serves those looking for the deeper meanings while those looking for more traditional efforts will be utterly bored and disappointed. Beyond the initial appearance and trappings of a torture film, the particular area of study conducted by the madman dictates that hardly anything at all even happens in this one as they sit around talking to each other or attempting escapes while they're being watched over, letting the film seemingly go on forever with absolutely nothing happening or even getting any kinds of answers to questions since the lead psycho never utters a word and all of the notes undertaken don't come off legibly. The other problem here is the fact that the study is never conducted in any kind of realistic manner since the whole affair transpires over the course of a month without anyone looking even slightly encumbered by only consuming water instead of any kind of substance. The attempts to make-up them into looking hideous or malnourished are completely mishandled and manage to cause them to look glamorous instead, quite the opposite of what the purpose is while also missing the point of a realistic manner of human deterioration that usually occurs. By completely failing to understand this basic concept of the film, it's nearly impossible to get into this one on any level which really throws this one away the most on top of the other flaws.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
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