Starring: Laura Kriss, Nate Burud, J.T. Taylor, Nicholas Holland, Jordan Kantola, Lillian Lamour, Nick Vernier.
Directed by: Nicholas Holland
Written by: Nicholas Holland, Colin Wilson
Runtime: 67 minutes
Rated: Unrated (for adult language, violence)
One of the aspects I love the most about indie features is the creativity and ingenuity that these filmmakers have to 
have. Whereas it is a triumph when a film gets fully realized, shot, edited, exhibited, and distributed on any level, it’s even more so for the little guy who is working with a micro-budget, often times using their own money. The amount of creativity that is used on these features is sometimes mind-blowing. The odds are stacked against these filmmakers much more so than a big budget Hollywood feature who often times have hundreds if not thousands of individuals behind the scenes working to make sure the film gets finished, as well as access to cutting edge technology and knowhow.
On micro-budget features, the filmmakers have to rely more on story and characterization than big money effects and CGI, which often times translates to better stories and more creative ways of getting things accomplished. Such is the case with the independent horror film Hunger Unholy. The Michigan based filmmakers were obviously limited with their budget, (the film had a budget of under $5,000) but still managed to turn in a very competent movie. Creature features are difficult to pull off, even on the biggest of budgets, but these filmmakers led by director Nicholas Holland manage to make an engaging and often creepy not your average werewolf thriller along the way.
Gabe’s (Nate Burud) parents have recently died in a tragic event. After the funeral, Gabe and his girlfriend Kelly, played by Laura Kriss (Fatal Encounters) are heading up to his parent’s secluded cabin in the woods to go through their belongings and get the house ready to sell before an asshole neighbor can ransack it. Four good friends accompany Gabe and Kelly for moral support and to help out. Once at the cabin, the group comes up against their worst nightmare as they are stalked and hunted by something sinister as the full moon rises high in the sky.
Hunger Unholy (I love the title) has a lot going for it and it’s obvious the filmmakers put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this movie. The writers of the film, Nicholas Holland and Colin Wilson were setting out to make an 80’s throwback monster movie, and I feel they accomplished that fairly well. What I liked the most about the movie was its dark and gritty look that gave the film its 1980’s vibe. The film was intentionally shot to give it a grainy style reminiscent of an older film. This was accomplished using a Nikon point-and-shoot Coolpix camera to duplicate the desired film appearance. Talk about inventiveness, that’s one reason why a huge budget doesn’t always translate to a better picture. The film was shot with what looked like mostly natural lighting during daylight and indoor scenes and the night time shots were lit adequately enough. The darker and grainy feel gave the movie an underlying air of creepiness that I felt added to the atmosphere. One scene in particular stood out for me when Gabe falls asleep in the woods and has a nightmarish dream sequence that was pretty freaky and well executed.
The acting was good across the board. While nobody will win any Oscars for their performances, the cast was solid and 
did a fine job. Everyone was believable and each do a good job at making the viewer care about their character.
As Hunger Unholy strives to be an old fashioned monster movie, so is its creature, but that’s not a bad thing. I’m not giving anything away by saying the film features a werewolf, that’s revealed in the trailer. This werewolf is a low budget, B-movie, man in a suit werewolf, but that’s part of its appeal and really what helps it achieve the throwback feel to the film. We’re not given any full on glimpses of the beast, only brief shots here and there of feet, arms, or the werewolf in silhouette. I like that style of less is more, it adds tension and creates atmosphere. The design of the beast, from its limited exposure is somewhat campy, but it gets the job done. The film has a fair amount of blood and there are a couple of good attack scenes but nothing really too savage that you normally come to expect from a werewolf film.
The film is not perfect by any means. The story is good, but there are some gaps in logic when looking back. The film is short, clocking in at about 67 minutes, which works in its favor by not having too many unneeded scenes of exposition, but more backstory details could have been explored further. There are some significant plot twists in the film that some will enjoy while others might not be too happy about. I was a little let down by the ending but I get what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish.
Overall, Hunger Unholy is a great retro-style monster movie that is very ingenious in design and execution. It features a fine cast, an unusual storyline, and good practical effects that leave more to the imagination. I wish more filmmakers were like director Nicholas Holland. He has a great eye behind the camera and obvious creativity which shows in the finished film. I will be looking for bigger and better horror films from this guy to be sure, well done.
3 out of 5 Pentagrams!
Watch the trailer for Hunger Unholy here:
