History Film / Ravenous1999

* SadlyMythtaken: The wendigo story is an American First-Nations myth told to ''discourage'' cannibalism.[[note]]Basically, the cannibal will never again be able to eat enough to not be hungry after partaking in human flesh, because they will instantly grow bigger every time they eat something.[[/note]] Gaining the victim's strength and vitality is an African myth told to ''encourage'' it.

* SadlyMythtaken: The wendigo story is an American First-Nations myth told to ''discourage'' cannibalism.[[note]]Basically, the cannibal will never be able to eat enough to not be hungry after partaking in human flesh, because they will instantly grow bigger every time they eat something.[[/note]] Gaining the victim's strength and viality is an African myth told to ''encourage'' it.

* SadlyMythtaken: The wendigo myth is told to discourage cannibalism.[[note]]Basically, the cannibal will never be able to eat enough to not be hungry again after partaking in human flesh, because they will instantly grow bigger every time they eat something.[[/note]] Gaining the victim's strength and viality is an African myth told to ''encourage'' it.

* SadlyMythtaken: The wendigo myth is told to discourage cannibalism.[[note]]Basically, the cannibal will never be able to eat enough to not be hungry again after partaking in human flesh, because they will instantly grow bigger every time they eat something.[[\note]] Gaining the victim's strength and viality is an African myth told to ''encourage'' it.

* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Col. Hart at the end, when he rejects cannibalism and opts for being killed by Boyd]].
* ArsonMurderAndLifeSaving: This is how Boyd earned the backhanded promotion that landed him at Fort Spencer - he captured the enemy outpost only because he froze in combat, then played possum and let his men be slaughtered while he tried to save his own life.

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Fort Spencer's skeleton crew consists of three privates, one captain, one major and one colonel. There is not a single NCO. [[spoiler: Things get only weirder after two privates, the colonel and their native guide get killed, but no replacement aside new colonel is sent, even if there is already a major and a captain in place, but a dire shortage of rank and file - those three officers command a ''single'' private]]. Normally, a captain commands a ''company'', which is roughly 120 men. For the given period, Boyd alone should be made a commanding officer of Fort Spencer, especially since it's wintertime skeleton crew.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:[[EverybodyDies Nearly the entire cast gets killed]], but Ives's plan to create a conspiracy of super-powered cannibals is brought down with his death. With a touch of DiedHappilyEverAfter - Boyd got [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To The Frontier]] because of his cowardice, and became a cannibal because he's afraid to die, but in the end he finds both the courage to act and to willingly accept death in order to stop Ives and end the hold the Wendigo curse has on him. The ending does have one element of a true DownerEnding, namely that he didn't think to throw out the "Stew a la Major Knox" before confronting Ives, and General Slauson finds it and promptly finds it very much to his liking. This raises the possibility that all of Boyd's battling and sacrifice were for nothing and the cycle of the Wendigo cannibal will start again... although it's unlikely the General would know or find out what is in the stew he ate, and thus also unlikely he'll repeat it again.]]

* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler: Hart asks Boyd to kill him because he doesn't want to live as a cannibal anymore, Boyd himself chooses to die instead of eating Ives in the end]].

* EvilRedhead: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] [[spoiler: when Hart turns wendigo he becomes younger and his hair goes from grey to red. When he dies, it [[DyingAsYourself goes back to grey again]].]]

** While telling the story, Colqhoun has a hard time recalling the names and origin of the party members. [[spoiler:That's because he never really cared about those people and only saw them as a meal]].

* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Ives.]]

* HealingFactor: The effect of the {{Wendigo}}, but with the side effect of HorrorHunger.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler: Colonel Hart, starts out as a KnightInSourArmor but turns cannibal when Ives brings him back from the dead before having a [[IncrediblyLamePun change of heart]] and asking Boyd to MercyKill him]].

* LackOfEmpathy: During Colquhoun’s tale of how Colonel Ives killed and ate the rest of their party, Reich is the only one not horrified (until he sees the body that is). Later, he coldly dismisses Boyd’s concern for the mortally wounded [[spoiler:Hart]]. The only person he does show empathy for is his MoralityPet Toffler.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The occupants of Fort Spencer. Contrary to the trope's general use, they don't really do so well.

** [[spoiler: Colonel Hart isn't dead.]]

* TheStoner: "The over-medicated Private Cleaves".

* TookALevelInBadass: Boyd spends the entire film as the designated wimp (even admitting that he won his medal for cowardice), until [[spoiler: the last 3 scenes when he decides to fight Ives, using all of his new cannibal superpowers]].
** In the backstory, Ives, who went from a tubercular, suicidal mess to a DiabolicalMastermind MadeOfIron. And [[spoiler: Col. Hart, who, in his first scene, cracks walnut shells under a giant book, but in a later scene, is able to crush them with his bare hands.]] All through the magic of cannibalism.

-->Hart: What'd you get the medal for?
-->Boyd: ...Cowardice.

* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Col. Hart at the end, when he rejects cannibalism and opts to being killed by Boyd]].

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Fort Spencer's skeleton crew consists of three privates, one captain, one major and one colonel. There is not a single NCO. [[spoiler: Things get only weirder after two privates, the colonel and their native guide get killed, but no replacement aside new colonel is sent, even if there is already a major and a captain in place, but a dire shortage of rank and file - those three officers command a ''single'' private]]. Normally, a captain commands a ''company'', which is roughly 120 men. For given period, Boyd alone should be made a commanding officer of Fort Spencer, especially since it's wintertime skeleton crew.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:[[EverybodyDies Nearly the entire cast gets killed]], but Ives' plan to create a conspiracy of super-powered cannibals is brought down with his death. With a touch of DiedHappilyEverAfter - Boyd got [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To The Frontier]] because of his cowardice, and became a cannibal because he's afraid to die, but in the end he finds both the courage to act and to willingly accept death in order to stop Ives and end the hold the Wendigo curse has on him. The ending does have one element of a true DownerEnding, namely that he didn't think to thrown out the "Stew a la Major Knox" before confronting Ives, and General Slauson finds it and promptly finds it very much to his liking. This raises the possibility that all of Boyd's battling and sacrifice were for nothing and the cycle of the Wendigo cannibal will start again... although it's unlikely the General would know or find out what is in the stew he ate, and thus also unlikely he'll repeat it again.]]

** The first member of Colqhoun's party to bite it in the flashback is the token black "[[UnusualEuphemism servant]]". Somewhat justified since, as a "servant", he was probably the worst-fed of the entire party going before going on the expedition, and had the least of a fat reserve to draw on. If you look at other [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty starvation-and-cannibalism]] stories across American history (for example, the famous case of the doomed whaleship ''Essex''), you'll see that, sadly, the question of who died first was all too often drawn along racial lines.

* DeadpanSnarker: Colonel Hart most of the time, though he's revealed to be more StepfordSnarker in the end. When he first runs down the personnel situation at Fort Spencer to Boyd, (telling him how the drunken Major Knox is the one who plays doctor if they need someone to do so, and Cleaves the stoner is the local chef) he gives us his gem:

* TheEndOrIsIt: At the end of the film, [[spoiler: the newly-arrived General Slauson greedily slurping up the "Stew a la Major Knox", thus becoming a cannibal and setting up the potential to [[HereWeGoAgain start the whole mess up again]]. Of course, the good general wouldn't know where the meat came from, or how to repeat the experience, so that throws some doubt as to whether things will in fact start over]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Reich, despite being a hardened and ruthless soldier, is visibly horrified when he sees the remains of Ives' victims.

* EvilRedhead: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] [[spoiler: when Hart turns wendigo he becomes younger and his hair goes from grey to red. When he dies it [[DyingAsYourself goes back to grey again]].]]

** While telling the story, Colqhoun has hard time recalling the names and origin of the party members. [[spoiler:That's because he never really cared about those people and only saw them as a meal]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: Sacrifice and embracing death are major themes of the movie, with Boyd becoming a "hero" by playing dead instead of fighting and then spending rest of the story living under the heavy burden created by this event. What makes [[spoiler: Ives]] so evil is how callously he's willing kill other people for his own benefit. [[spoiler:When dying of tuberculosis, he ''killed and ate'' a person who told him about the {{Wendigo}} myth, just to ''try'' prevent his own death, on to off chance it would work. He then lured an entire wagon train to the middle of nowhere where he slaughtered and ate all of them too just to experiment further with cannibalism while traveling to the Fort for his own plans]].

* JustBetweenYouAndMe: [[spoiler: Ives lays out his larger plot to Boyd in this manner. When the two are alone Ives lays out his plan to create a small but well-connected group of cannibals similar to Ives, who can ambush small groups of pioneers passing through Fort Spencer and cover it up effectively. Ives also picks the time and place of this revelation quite carefully to make sure he isn't overheard by any of the others]].

* MedalOfDishonor: Boyd gets one just before he gets ReassignedToAntarctica; ''everyone'' knows that his victory was due him PlayingPossum (and furthermore, that him playing dead was ''not'' a piece of cunning strategy but a cowardly attempt to save his own life, even if it meant letting all the soldiers under his command die), and they really don't want him around.
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Colonel Hart decides to try a rescue the moment Colqhoun reveals that the last people left from the party are a woman and Colonel Ives, who it seems will inevitably murder her. Nobody voices any objections, and both Reich and Boyd are later more upset about her death than those of all the other pioneers. Their reaction is justified, since the entire trek was to get her rescued. [[spoiler: By the end of the film, the only inhabitant of Fort Spencer left alive is Martha. She wisely packs her things and just walks away]].

** [[spoiler:The myth of the {{Wendigo}} is at least partially true, as eating other humans grants superhuman strength, toughness, and healing abilities. It also creates an obsessional HorrorHunger in those who partake in cannibalism.]]

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: Martha, at the end of the film. When she comes back and finds Boyd and Ives together in the bear trap, she immediately leaves the fort. Given she's the last survivor of fort's inhabitants and a ''lot'' of weird things happened, she would end up questioned. And telling a story about mythical monster while being native ''and'' a woman is definitely not going to work her any favours]].

* ShownTheirWork: The movie is, on occasion, oppressively realistic in its portrayal of its mountainous, unpleasant terrain and the military of its time.
** It's with a touch of RealLifeWritesThePlot - there were serious problems with weather during production. The constant dissonance between heavy snow, thaw and relatively high temperatures around Fort Spencer? It's all ThrowItIn.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: One of the biggest offenders of '99. Before even the lector starts to comment the film, we already see [[spoiler:Robert Carlyle's character as an inhabitant of Fort Spencer]]. Then half way through we also learn that [[spoiler:Jeffrey Jones' character is a cannibal, Major Knox is killed and turned into a stew ''and'' Guy Pearce will fight to death with Robert Carlyle]]. And just to add insult to the injury, [[spoiler: Robert Carlyle is shown in his Colqhoun persona, pointing a gun at Jeremy Davies]]. The trailer spoiled ''every single twist'' aside from the final scene.

* UnusualEuphemism: Mr. Janus from Virginia travelled with his black "servant" Jones. The action takes place in the winter in early 1848, making it more likely for Jones to be simply a slave.
* VillainRespect: When Boyd faces off in the final battle against[[spoiler: Ives, he lures him into a bear trap and sets it off. With the two pinned together and dying, Ives compliments that it was a really sneaky plan.]]

* CannibalLarder: A ragged group of "soldiers" from a ramshackle 1840s fort investigate the story of a man who wandered up to their fort from the mountains, claiming he was part of a group of pioneers who became stranded in the mountains due to winter weather and [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty had to eventually resort to eating other pioneers who died]]. When the man fled the cave where they'd taken refuge, only two other survivors were left, one of whom was their treacherous guide who had seemed to embrace cannibalism and may have murdered other members of the group to cook them and save his own life. The two soldiers who venture into the cave find a grisly scene as the cave has been turned into a larder, complete with human skeletons completely stripped of meat. [[spoiler:Then the soldiers in the cave realize to their horror that there's one too many skeletons in the cave. [[TheReveal The man who told them the story and led their small party to the cave must be the cannibal!]]]]

* TheSavageIndian [=/=] CannibalTribe: Deconstructed and inverted. When George, a Native American man, tells Colonel Hart about the myth of the {{wendigo}} and the scattered instances of cannibalism among some Native cultures, the Colonel's reply is a concerned and paternalistic "People don't still do that, do they?" George replies that [[NotSoDifferent the white man eats the flesh of Jesus every Sunday]]. A later speech by Colonel Ives identifies American expansionism and colonialism as a metaphorical act of mass cannibalism, with Native people placed as the victims. And, of course, every ''literal'' act of cannibalism in the film is committed by a white person. [[spoiler: George is one of the first victims.]]

Captain Boyd is a ShellShockedVeteran of the UsefulNotes/MexicanAmericanWar of the 1840s. As a Lieutenant going into his first battle, Boyd panicked when his unit was caught in a devastating ambush and rather than attempting to [[DefiantToTheEnd fight back]] or [[TacticalWithdrawal lead his men to safety]], Boyd instead played dead in the hopes of saving his own life. However, when the Mexicans began collecting and burying the bodies from the battle, for no apparent reason a surge of strength and determination filled Boyd, and he broke free and captured the nearby Mexican commanders.

At first the Army intends to hide the truth and present Boyd as a hero, (complete with a promotion and a [[MedalOfDishonor medal]]) but it soon becomes obvious that despite his single brave action Boyd's nerves are shattered and he's incapable of presenting the heroic facade the Army wants. The local general responds by giving Boyd a [[ReassignedToAntarctica reassignment to Fort Spencer]], a ramshackle and barely manned mountain fort in [[MiddleOfNowhereStreet the Middle Of Nowhere]] high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, whose only purpose is to serve as a stopping point for pioneers traveling to California. When Boyd arrives the fort proves to be populated mostly by [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits drunks, misfits, layabouts, and crazies.]]

* {{Wendigo}}: Referenced, but nobody turns into a literal monster. Human flesh acts like an addictive SuperSerum, and that's about it. George specifically names the wendigo as an Ojibway story, which Colonel Hart translates as "from the North", which is broadly accurate. [[note]] Although variations on the wendigo myth can be found across the entire Algonkian and even Athabaskan language families, the best-known version - and even the word 'wendigo' itself - comes from the Objiway tradition. The Algonkians and Athabaskans did indeed live well north of the movie's Californian setting.[[/note]]

* TheSavageIndian / CannibalTribe: Deconstructed and inverted. When George, a Native American man, tells Colonel Hart about the myth of the {{wendigo}} and the scattered instances of cannibalism among some Native cultures, the Colonel's reply is a concerned and paternalistic "People don't still do that, do they?" George replies that [[NotSoDifferent the white man eats the flesh of Jesus every Sunday]]. A later speech by Colonel Ives identifies American expansionism and colonialism as a metaphorical act of mass cannibalism, with Native people placed as the victims. And, of course, every ''literal'' act of cannibalism in the film is committed by a white person. [[spoiler: George is one of the first victims.]]

* UnusualEuphemism: Mr Janus from Virginia travelled with his black "servant" Jones. The action takes place in the winter in early 1848, making it more likely for Jones to be simply a slave.

* WeirdWest: Kind of. It's about westward expansion in the 1840s, but it eschews the deserts and plains that normally go with this trope, with a landscape dominated by the snow and rocks of mountain country.

* ViolentGlaswegian: Downplayed. Colqhuon speaks with Robert Carlyle's natural Glasgow accent, and does some very violent things, but he doesn't really fit into the drunken, ignorant lout archetype this trope implies.
* {{Wendigo}}: Referenced, but nobody turns into a literal monster. Human flesh acts like an addictive SuperSerum, and that's about it. George specifically names the wendigo as an Ojibway story, which Colonel Hart translates as "from the North".

* {{Wendigo}}: Referenced, but nobody turns into a literal monster. Human flesh acts like an addictive SuperSerum, and that's about it.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:[[EverybodyDies Nearly the entire cast gets killed]], but Ives' plan to create a conspiracy of super-powered cannibals is brought down with his death. With a touch of DiedHappilyEverAfter - Boyd got [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To The Frontier]] because of his cowardice, and became a cannibal because he's afraid to die, but in the end he finds both the courage to act and to willingly accept death in order to stop Ives and end the hold the Wendigo curse has on him. The ending does have one element of a DownerEnding (other than the obvious fact that most of the protagonists die along the way) namely that didn't think to thrown out the "Stew a la Major Knox" before confronting Ives, and General Slauson finds it and promptly finds it very much to his liking. This raises the possibility that all of Boyd's battling and sacrifice were for nothing and the cycle of the Wendigo cannibal will start again... although it's unlikely the General would know or find out what is in the stew he ate, and thus also unlikely to repeat it again.]]

** The first member of Colqhoun's party to bite it in the flashback is the token black "[[UnusualEuphemism servant]]".

* BodyHorror: The scene in the pit involving Boyd's broken leg is rather painful to watch.

* JekyllAndHyde: [[spoiler: Colqhoun and Ives]] according to Creator/RobertCarlyle. [[spoiler:Apparently his behavior in front of the cave was his transforming from one to the other]].

* LackOfEmpathy: During Colquhoun’s tale of how Colonel Ives Killed and ate the rest of their party, Reich is the only one not horrified (until he sees the body that is). Later, he coldly dismisses Boyd’s concern for the mortally wounded [[spoiler:Hart]]. The only person he does show empathy for is his MoralityPet Toffler.

* SinisterMinister: When Colqhoun introduces himself, he notes that he's "a servant of God." [[spoiler:He's also a murderer and cannibal.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: Boyd spends the entire film as the designated wimp (he even gets a medal of cowardice), until [[spoiler: the last 3 scenes when he decides to fight Ives, using all of his new cannibal superpowers]].

* WouldHitAGirl: ZigZagged with Ives. [[spoiler: He had nothing against killing and eating Mrs [=MacCready=], but in the end, Martha is the only inhabitant of Fort Spencer left alive and he apparently completely ignored her existence]].

* MedalOfDishonor: Boyd gets one just before he gets ReassignedToAntarctica; ''everyone'' knows that his victory was due him PlayingPossum, and they really don't want him around.

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: At one point when Reich and Boyd venture into the cave where the pioneers took shelter, Boyd violates one of the biggest rules of gun safety when he carelessly winds up pointing a loaded rifle straight at Reich's head. ''Private'' Reich then has to remind ''Captain'' Boyd about always being aware of where the muzzle is pointed. [[TropesAreTools A nicely subtle way of reinforcing how useless Boyd is as a soldier]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:EverybodyDies, but Ives conspiracy is brought down with his death. With a touch of DiedHappilyEverAfter - Boyd got [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To The Frontier]] because of his cowardice, becomes a cannibal because he's afraid to die, but in the end he willingly accepts death hoping to stop Ives' cannibal conspiracy. If he had only thrown out the "Stew a la Major Knox" beforehand, altough it's unlikely the General would know or find out what is in it.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: Reich, the ruthless soldier that he is, is visably horrified at the sight of the remains of Ives' victims.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: More like "[[TheDeterminator Determinator]] Cannot Comprehend Coward". Ives is visibly shocked that Boyd would [[spoiler: jump to seemingly certain death]] rather than stay and fight for his only real chance at survival. What he didn't anticipate was that Boyd really ''was'' [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled committing suicide]], and the fact that he lived was pure luck.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Sacrifice and embracing death is in fact one of the main themes of the movie, with Boyd becoming a "hero" by playing dead instead of fighting and then spending rest of the story living under the heavy burden created by this event. What makes [[spoiler: Ives]] so evil is how calously he's willing kill other people for his own benifet. [[spoiler:When dying on tuberculosis, he ''killed, and ate'' a person who told him a myth, just to ''try'' prevent his own death, on to off chance it would work. He then lured and killed a wagon train to the middle of nowhere, just to get closer to the Fort for his own plans]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler: A big part of what makes Ives so irredeemably evil. When dying on tuberculosis, he ''killed, cooked and ate'' a person who told him a myth, just to ''try'' prevent his own death, on to offchance it would work. He then lured and killed a carvavan to the middle of nowhere, just to get closer to the Fort for his own plans]]. Sacrifice and embracing death is in fact one of the main themes of the movie, with Boyd becoming a "hero" by playing dead instead of fighting and then spending rest of the story living under the heavy burden created by this event.

* DownerEnding: But a ''hilarious'' downer ending, which, in this movie, is somehow possible.
-->'''Ives''': That was... '''really'''... sneaky.
** With a touch of [[spoiler:DiedHappilyEverAfter - Boyd got [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To The Frontier]] because of his cowardice, becomes a cannibal because he's afraid to die, but in the end he willingly accepts death hoping to stop Ives' cannibal conspiracy. If he had only thrown out the "Stew a la Major Knox" beforehand...]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler: A big part of what makes Ives so irredeemably evil. When dying on tuberculosis, he ''killed, cooked and ate'' a person who told him a myth, just to ''try'' prevent his own death, with absolutely zero guarantee it would work and completely disregarding the side effects. Then he callously wiped out an entire pioneer party that he lured to the middle of nowhere, just to get closer to the place that he wanted to use for his long-term plans. And then killed and ate almost entire crew stationed in Fort Spencer. All just because it was good for his own health]]. Sacrifice and embracing death is in fact one of the main themes of the movie, with Boyd becoming a "hero" by playing dead instead of fighting and then spending rest of the story living under the heavy burden created by this event.

* LackOfEmpathy: During Colquhoun’s tale of how Colonel Ives Killed and ate the rest of their party, Reich is the only one not horrified. Later, he coldly dismisses Boyd’s concern for the mortally wounded [[spoiler:Hart]]. The only person he does show empathy for is his MoralityPet Toffler.

* SociopathicSoldier: Private Reich, who bathed in ice cold water, shows a cold indifference to all of the deaths he witnesses with the exception of [[spoiler:Toffler]]’s, and threatens to murder Boyd and Colquhoun several times. Downplayed, since he has a MoralityPet in the form of Toffler.

At first the Army intends to hide the truth and present Boyd as a hero, (complete with a promotion and a [[MedalOfDishonor medal]]) but it soon becomes obvious that despite his single brave action Boyd's nerves are shattered and he's incapable of presenting the heroic facade the Army wants. The local general responds by giving Boyd a [[ReassignedToAntarctica reassignment to Fort Spencer]], a ramshackle and barely manned mountain fort in [[MiddleOfNowhereStreet the Middle Of Nowhere]] high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, whose only purpose is being a stopping point for pioneers traveling to California. When Boyd arrives the fort proves to be populated mostly by [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits drunks, misfits, layabouts, and crazies.]]

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: At one point when Reich and Boyd venture into the cave where the pioneers took shelter, Boyd violates one of the biggest rules of gun safety when he carelessly winds up pointing a loaded rifle straight at Reich's head. ''Private'' Reich then has to remind ''Captain'' Boyd about always being aware of where the muzzle is pointed. [[TropesAreNotBad A nicely subtle way of reinforcing how useless Boyd is as a soldier]].

* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: At one point when Reich and Boyd venture into the cave where the pioneers took shelter, Boyd violates one of the biggest rules of gun safety when he carelessly winds up pointing a loaded rifle straight at Reich's head. ''Private'' Reich then has to remind ''Captain'' Boyd about always being aware of where the muzzle is pointed. A nicely subtle way of reinforcing how useless Boyd is as a soldier.