Happy Pride, bisexuals. I know media portrayals of bisexuality can be a little embarrassing at times (see: IKEA Canada’s infamous gaslighting bisexual couch, bisexuality “emerging” in 1995 on the cover of Newsweek, whatever is happening on Love Island USA Season 8), but thankfully, horror has long been home to some of the coolest and most complex stories exploring bisexual desire, identity, and attraction.
This is especially true when it comes to vampires, who have been seducing men, women, and anyone else unfortunate (or fortunate) enough to cross their path. Pick any vampire book or movie, and you’ll find that at least one character—usually the vampire, but not always—is bisexual. And more often than not, they’re having the time of their lives.
Which brings us to The Hunger. If you love the “timeless beauty of Catherine Deneuve, the cruel elegance of David Bowie, and the open sensuality of Susan Sarandon,” then Tony Scott‘s (Top Gun, True Romance) stylish but oft-overlooked 1983 vampire thriller deserves a spot at the very top of your Pride Month watchlist.
Based on Whitley Strieber’s novel of the same name, The Hunger follows Miriam Blaylock (Deneuve), a glamorous vampire of “vaguely Egyptian origins” who grants her human lovers eternal life and youth. But when her partner John Blaylock (Bowie) starts rapidly aging, he seeks out the help of Dr. Sarah Roberts (Sarandon), a gerontology researcher who is studying the effects of rapid aging in primates. Her attempt to understand his mysterious condition leads her to Miriam, who decides she might be John’s perfect replacement.
I was introduced to The Hunger via Sky Ferreira’s music video for “You’re Not the One.” I was in college, I had finally made my first-ever Netflix account, and I spent a staggering amount of time reading different blogs and scrolling through Tumblr and online forums looking for new movies and music. Coming from a conservative family who had very little interest in music and pop culture (we only owned four DVDs; two of them were Garden State and The Passion of the Christ), going to school meant I could finally dive headfirst into all the freaky stuff I had been dying to watch but couldn’t access. It wasn’t because I was outright banned from watching or listening to certain things (does anyone remember Pants-Off Dance-Off?), but there’s only so much you can do with cable TV.
When I discovered “You’re Not the One” was heavily inspired by the opening of The Hunger, I knew I had to watch it. If it’s cool enough for Ferreira, then it was cool enough for me. So imagine my surprise when I found out that it was met with mostly negative reviews upon its release, with everyone from Roger Ebert calling it “agonizingly bad” to other critics warning readers to “avoid it like the plague.” In an interview with CinemaBlend in 2009, Scott confirmed that “Hollywood just hated [the] movie,” alleging that his “parking spot at Warner Brothers was painted out” after producers saw an early cut.
If there’s anything I know about horror audiences, it’s that just because a movie isn’t considered good doesn’t mean it’s bad, and this especially applies to queer audiences. But I’d argue that The Hunger is, in fact, a good movie, and that critics at the time weren’t ready for a modern vampire story, let alone one that addresses the inherent queerness of vampires. This isn’t to suggest outwardly queer vampire movies didn’t exist before The Hunger—go on Tubi right now, and you’ll find a ton of lesbian vampire movies from the ’70s—but I think that this film in particular was uncomfortable because its characters are explicitly bisexual.
And yet, the word “bisexual” is never used once in the film, and neither is the word “vampire.” Miriam exists outside of any label or category, making her infinitely more dangerous and unpredictable. She’s an equal opportunity lover and monster. Her desire for Sarah is just as strong as her desire for John, as well as her desire to dispatch them both if needed.
I understand the trope of the evil bisexual is a frustrating one, but The Hunger is a blast because Miriam is so evil and looks amazing doing it. Spoiler for a 43-year-old movie, but even though Bowie is extremely hot in this, I don’t blame Miriam for locking John up in a coffin alongside all her ex-lovers in order to pursue Sarah (side note: casting Bowie as a human-vampire hybrid was an inspired choice given the way he spent much of his career blurring boundaries around gender and sexuality).
What I also like about The Hunger is that it treats desire simply as desire, especially in Sarah’s case. She never agonizes over her sexuality or her sudden attraction to Miriam—in fact, she barely agonizes over the fact that she’s cheating on her boyfriend. The sex scene between the two women is sexy but it doesn’t ever feel gratuitous or sleazy. Next to John insisting that he’s still a “young man,” this is one of the most vulnerable (and human) moments in the film.
You could throw The Hunger on a projector during a party and keep it on mute solely for the “vibe” (all the blues and oranges! Deneuve’s wardrobe!), but I think it deserves a serious watch this Pride Month. It’s sexy and stylish with a great cast and an opening that doubles as a Bauhaus music video. You also get to see Sarandon purposefully spill wine on her tank top and Willem Dafoe for .2 seconds. You’re welcome, bisexuals.
The Hunger is free to stream on Tubi.
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