The Hunger: Tony Scott’s Artsy, Sexy, and Weird Debut Film Starring David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve

The Hunger, a 1983 film directed by Tony Scott and starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon, is a must-see for fans of unique and artsy vampire films. As the debut movie from the director who later gave us Top Gun, True Romance, and Man on Fire, The Hunger is distinct for being more modern, sexier, and weirder than its predecessors. The opening scene, intercut with Bauhaus’s live performance of their influentially gloomy track ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead,’ sets the stage for a story centered around Miriam Blaylock (Deneuve), an all-powerful vampire who has been around since the time of Ancient Egypt. The film is perfectly cast, and the icy, otherworldly quality of both Bowie and Deneuve makes them a great fit to play their enigmatic yet alluring supernatural beings. However, the confusing final act works against the internal logic and themes the film had worked so hard to establish. Despite this, The Hunger has developed a cult following over the years and remains a stand-out film in the vampire genre. It is available to buy and rent now on Apple TV, Rakuten TV, and Sky Store.