Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

A Brilliant Conflict

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

When I picked out this movie at blockbuster, I was not expecting it to be something that I hadn't seen before. I was dead wrong. I am a huge fan of psychological horrors, and this movie definitely is one. It is different, but not in a weird way. At first it actually reminded me a bit of saw, but I kind of like this one better. It really makes you think "What would I do if I were in this situation?" It also really captures the captures the different characters' personality, and I really think more horror movies could use some of that. The only reason for me giving it a 9 and not a 10, is that I maybe thought there could have been a bit more info on Jordan's past.

Basically, there are two kinds of cannibals featured in hundreds of human-eating-themed movies during the past century. Best broken down into the categories of "cannibals by choice" and "cannibals by necessity," many top films fall into one of these categories (as well as even more really poor ones). Note that for purposes of this discussion, one must forget all about the thousands of zombie movies (since zombies are no more human than vampires, werewolves, ALIEN-type extraterrestrials, mega-sharks, or any of a hundred other threats to mankind that lack objective, scientific proof for their existence). SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and EATING RAOUL are a couple of my favorite examples of cannibal-by-choice movies. On the other side, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES and A BOY AND HIS DOG are two of my best-loved cannibal-by-necessity films. HUNGER falls into the class of cannibal-by-necessity flicks, though the characters put into a totally implausible circumstance disagree among themselves as to whether the necessity justifies cannibal-by-murder (since there's also the option of waiting until someone dies of "natural" if unusual causes BEFORE starting to eat them). Unfortunately, what could have been a riveting movie in the hands of the directors of the four films referred to above comes off more like something directed by Ulli Lommel or Uwe Boll under Steven Hentges' control. Especially off-putting are all of the scenes featuring the mis-named character ("The Scientist") who is responsible for the rest of the cast's SAW-like predicament. The repetitious shots of this creep at his control board bring to mind Lommel at his worse, while the flashbacks to the pre-teen "scientist" eating his dead mom after an isolated car crash smacks of Boll at his most tawdry depths of exploitation.

Save yourself 1 hour 40 minutes of your life, this movie doesn't bring anything new the genre. Weak plot, in fact, I've seen many movies with EXACTING the same storyline. I really don't know where do they get the budget to go over and over the same story lines. No twists, predictable ending and the make up is not even according to day number x they're living, come on... you are in day number 23 and this charming blond one is with her shining Pantene hair looking radiant. You are warned.

This was a simple film to produce: one set and 6 main actors. However, the concepts put forth are significant and worthy of our consideration. The plot involves 5 people placed into a dungeon with water but no food. The perpetrator and his motivation is initially unknown, but he is gradually revealed in various effective ways. The viewer is asked to observe these people as days pass. It is initially unclear why these particular people are brought together, but the reasons are also revealed during the course of the film.The question asked is: what would we be willing to do to survive? I enjoyed the performances of these actors and found their characterizations to be interesting and complex. The filmmaker is very skilled in homing in on the facial expressions and behaviors of the actors. I felt pulled into the situation, continuously trying to guess which character would do what to whom.I highly recommend this film to anyone who craves food for thought.