Фильм «Hungry» получил жесткую критику за скуку и отсутствие зрелищности

Hungry In this late summer's new creature feature, it's not alligators that pose the greatest threat in the marshes. Hungry is the title, the hippopotamus is the animal, so naturally the first question is: Is this Hasbro's film adaptation of Hungry, Hungry Hippos? Well, perhaps, if it had been left to a horror director. I haven't looked into the matter and so don't know the answer. What I have done, however, is spend ninety minutes in the swamps of Louisiana in James Nunn's hippopotamus horror film, where a group of people on a swamp safari are looking forward to photographing alligators but instead find themselves spending their time with something quite different. Plot: After getting lost in the swamps of Louisiana during an alligator safari, a group of people must fight for their lives against a rampaging hippopotamus on the loose. James Nunn is a new name to me. He has directed films such as Tower Block, Hooligans 3, Shark Bait (a shark film I've missed!) and now, perhaps, the world's first hippopotamus horror film. He has several films on his CV, but nothing that really stands out. Perhaps for a reason? The cast includes Madison Davenport from Sharp Objects, Tracey Bonner and Michel Curiel, who have played minor roles in a number of productions. The main draw, if we can call him that, is Joaquim de Almeida, whose CV is as long as a roll of toilet paper and includes Fast X, Shogun, Warrior Nun and 24. It should be added that none of the actors are given much to work with. I heard about Hungry a couple of months before its release, and this year it's become very clear that I'm drawn to creature features. And surely there's something exciting about the premise of innocent, foolish people ending up on a murderous hippopotamus's menu? I can't simply dismiss it, even though, with hindsight, I might well have done so. That said, it probably comes as no great surprise that Hungry isn't anything to get excited about? In fact, you'd be very wise not to even consider wasting ninety minutes of your life on this film. Hungry is many things. Unfortunately, an exciting and entertaining film isn't one of them. Hungry isn't a particularly visually appealing film. Sure, the views of the marshlands might be, but the settings quickly become monotonous and the special effects leave a lot to be desired. The film also has a PG13 rating, which means it won't be graphic. But surely they could have managed to include a few nerve-wracking, creative kills? No? Not even that. It feels like half the point of a film like this, but we get neither gore nor stylish special effects. Unfortunately, the script is extremely lame and there's no suspense either. There might be a tiny bit of tension for a few seconds when one of the poor souls is swimming in the water just after the hungry hippopotamus appears, but that's as far as it goes. It's actually almost fascinating how stripped-back the tension is, which in itself stems from the fact that the characters are completely ignored and the sequences meant to be thrilling fail to deliver on that very point. Joaquim de Almeida's veteran character never amounts to more than a caricature; the hippopotamus, as the antagonist, never becomes scary or genuinely threatening; and once ninety minutes have passed, you find yourself wondering who to contact to demand a refund for your wasted time. Unfortunately, Hungry isn't even bad enough to be entertaining, which is in itself a hallmark of the genre. It's simply boring and unremarkable. In fact, just as with this winter's absolute low point, Return to Silent Hill, I have absolutely nothing positive to say about the hippopotamus horror film Hungry apart from the fact that it does eventually end.