Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In an isolated rural community of Quebec, Canada, some inhabitants attack other people, hungry for human flesh. A few survivors gather and go deep into the forest to escape them.
Ravenous (2017) — the Quebec zombie film by Robin Aubert — is a visually striking, deliberately paced horror film that prioritizes atmosphere over conventional narrative. Its cinematography is genuinely exceptional, using the stark Canadian winter landscape and long takes to create dread and beauty simultaneously. The plot is intentionally sparse and elliptical, which works thematically but frustrates conventional horror expectations — functional but divisive. Acting is naturalistic and grounded across the ensemble cast. Novelty is above average for the subgenre due to its art-house sensibility, absurdist touches, and refusal of genre conventions, though it still operates within the zombie framework. The ending is genuinely weak — ambiguous in a way that feels unearned rather than profound, leaving threads unresolved without sufficient payoff.