At long last there is an aquatic (or semi-aquatic) creature-feature that isn’t about gators or crocs, sharks or snakes, or even some kind of weird fish. And although it’s not as unique as, say, Zombeavers or The Bay, Hungry is the best hippo horror movie around. Granted, there are only two in existence.
After often being just the cameo in other movies, the mighty hippopotamus gets a lead role. And overall, James Nunn did right by this massive mammal. Anyone who knows anything about these river gods (and doesn’t mistake them for Moo Deng) knows they’re dangerous and terrifying, and any horror movie would be right to depict them as they are, rather than embellishing the truth. Hippos don’t need any help when it comes to making them scary.
Hungry pulls from real U.S. history and creates an enticing “what if” scenario filtered through a nightmare. Here we have hippos, which were nearly common American livestock at one point, surviving and remaining hidden in the Louisiana Bayou. This concept has been toyed with in other media, but Nunn acts on its potential for horror with mostly good results. It helps that there have been decades worth of movies that have laid the groundwork. So while Hungry is essentially switching out one predatory animal for another, you can still enjoy all the thought put into the exposition. This is one case where the creature’s origin shouldn’t remain a mystery, or be a conceit that the audience accepts without further explanation.
Set-up aside, Hungry plays out exactly as you would expect, after hearing a logline like “tour boat of people trapped in the swamp with a hippo”. It’s true; the movie doesn’t break new ground, apart from the changing of the beast. But Nunn crafts, and maintains, a certain level of entertainment that, despite its sheer formulaicness, keeps you engaged. Maybe it’s simply the fact that there’s a killer hippo, and not a crocodile or shark, that makes everything here more forgivable.
The novelty of a chunky, four-legged water demon picking off a ragtag group of tourists has appeal, and for those who seek out these kinds of movies, they should be satisfied. Obfuscating the hippo during the majority of the attacks, particularly those set during the day, would seem silly; we know what’s killing everyone. Yet once the monster shows more of itself, you’re not as desensitized as you would have been had Nunn decided to not exercise some restraint. As for the hippo’s appearance, you can anticipate a high use of CGI; however, there are spots of practical effects. All things considered, both look fairly good.
One complaint about Hungry is, perhaps, the occasional bits of forced writing. There are these moments that were likely included for the sake of propelling the action. For instance, one character’s freakout leads to another character falling into the water and becoming prey. That felt as unnatural as, well, a hippo living in the Bayou. Even then, I bought that more than the scene in question.
Hungry doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does try to reinvent the killer animal movie. Its efforts, while not completely successful, can still be appreciated in a day and age where by-the-number shark movies have become countless, as well as increasingly mediocre.
Hungry hits U.S. theaters on June 3 for a one-night screening before swimming to digital outlets on June 23.
Tales from the Paulside 
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