Craving Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Craving Blu-ray Movie Review

Well, that was crowded.

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 6, 2024

Hoo boy, and here... we... go. With a cast of characters dwarfing a small village, a twist within a twist that you'll see coming a mile out, and performances as impressive as the film's budget (read the sarcasm), Craving is yet another would-be cult indie-horror classic minus anything that would elevate it to classic status. One decent bit of acting holds it all together, but a slew of lip-chomping, teeth-gritting, line-barking supporting actors do their best to make the film a slog toward a bloody ending. But at least it's not hell, or an afterlife romp, or a flick where everyone's in purgatory and just doesn't realize it. Of course, when the best thing a film has going for it is what it isn't, that's not a good sign. Oh, there's practical gristle aplenty (for those who don't mind the comparisons you'll make to a hundred ultraviolent movies that have done it all better), and enough gun-slinging, exuberantly stabby stabbing, close-quarters action, cold-blooded kills, and creature effects to satiate gore hounds. But at what cost? At... what... cost!?

The plot of Craving is much simpler than its army of characters suggest. Essentially, the patrons and staff of a rural bar have to contend with a group of armed addicts and invaders inside a rural bar, but soon find themselves on a race to identify a mysterious bloodthirsty psychopath among them before it's too late. But good God are there a lot of people to track and backstories to follow. The film stars no less than twenty-five actors, including Rachel Amanda Bryant, Felissa Rose, Xavier Roe, Al Gomez, Toya Morman, Kevin Caliber, Ashley Undercuffer (great name by the way), Gregory Blair, Zera Lynd, Robert C. Pullman, Frankie Guzman, Holly Rockwell, Kelsie Matthews, Michael Turner Tucker, Likun Jing, Miranda Bourke, Scott Alan Ward, Greg Tally, Matt Weinglass, Kim Estes, Thomas Haley, Brook Hubbs, Joseph D. Webb, Jake Butcher and... you get the idea. It's packed. Directed by J. Horton and written by Horton and Gregory Blair, it's somehow a movie with a $100k budget that could have just turned auditions into filming.

If Craving moved its B-movie third act forward and embraced its creature feature roots, or just went with the much shorter grindhouse cut included on the disc as an extra, I'd be more positive. Instead we get backstory heaped upon backstory, which is meant to deepen the film's mysteries but really only drags out the inevitable, giving us information on people we don't care a lick about because we already know 1) there's only one survivor (thanks opening scene) and 2) we know exactly who it is (double thanks to the opening shots). So why all the subterfuge? Why all the plot-wringing? Why all the character bits that add precisely zero to the endgame? Presumably because no one thought to ask if any of it would matter if we know who lives and dies from the get-go. Thankfully -- and this isn't a spoiler -- it's Rachel Amanda Bryant's Shiloh, who also just so happens to be one of the only characters I didn't mind making it to the credits. Everyone else? Good God, please escort these people off screen as quickly as possible. I'm sure it's only partially their fault. You can practically hear Horton shouting off screen, pushing each of his cast to go bigger, broader, louder and more intense. When you start the film at a 9, cramming heroin addicts on the lam, police officers and other shady figures into a high-pressure situation, you have to really jam the dial higher and higher, beyond 10, to build any further intensity. Which precisely no one watching Craving needs.

It also doesn't feel as intentionally cheesy or campy as the grindhouse cut suggests it was meant to be. Overly serious and, honestly, weirdly pretentious for a midnight movie of its ilk, it's lacking comedy, laughs and cheap scares. At best it holds any such things till the very end, when you can have a few giggles if the moment tickles your fancy. Normally it would, but I had checked out long before the fun actually began. It's Cube with a "monster" in a bar, and that really only goes so far when someone, anyone, should have bolted out the back door as soon as bodies started to drop. But the old play on "the dangerous game" or who's truly "the walking dead" is the priority here. Gasp... the people are the real monsters. Shocking. And tiresome. There's only so many times someone can level a gun, offering a blood-curdling scream and send everyone on screen into hysterics and confessionals before the entire shebang grows old and weary. More beasties, not less; more gore, not less; more camp, not less; Craving is a horror comedy without the comedy, and it needs more of everything "bad" to make it what it was born to be: a so-bad-it's-good cult classic that leaves people in stitches.

Craving Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Craving's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is quite good, although there are several instances of blocking, banding and the like that sneak through (presumably tied to the photography rather than the encoding, but it's hard to say). Colors are bold and vibrant, with face-slapping primaries, visceral reds, inky blacks and striking skintones. Detail is excellent on the whole too. There is a bit of pesky softness, particularly during fx shots and creature attacks, but generally edge definition is razor sharp and fine textures are well-resolved (when hotter contrast isn't murdering them). Likewise, the cinematography is a slight step above the rest of the film, even if there are some bizarre shot choices that look more like criminal lineups than anything natural. Stir it all up and you have a decidedly decent-looking image that only disappoints on occasion. But considering the film's extremely low budget, that's something of a minor miracle.

Craving Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 is all we get, which comes as a real letdown when LFE support and surround channels would have gone such a long way to making the grindhouse violence and kills that much more engaging and, well, fun. Dialogue is clear and intelligible and prioritization is solid. But really there's not much more to say. Craving needed more sonic punch, and this isn't it.

Craving Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Additional Cuts/Versions of the Film (HD) - Two alternate versions of the film are included: a full "Table Read" of the movie (87 minutes) with the cast, followed by shortened, more aggressive "Grindhouse Cut" (67 minutes) that plays with video, audio and more to create a distinctly more visceral '70s-style throwback.

• Interviews (HD, 20 minutes) - Two fairly solid cast interviews are available: the first with actress Sophia Cacciola, the second with actress Felissa Rose.

• Visual Effects (HD, 11 minutes) - VFX Lead Brooks Hubbs talks at decent length about the movie's resistance to CG and its embrace of practical blood, gore and creature effects.

• Filmmaker Audio Commentary

Craving Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Craving has most of what you'd want from a low-budget indie horror Blu-ray release: a strong video presentation and a whole bunch of extras (including an alternate grindhouse cut and a full cast table read). But its lossy two-channel audio mix and, oh yeah, the film itself, disappoints terribly. Exorcise half the characters, push Bryant further forward, up the camp, and add a lossless 5.1 surround track and you'd have a release that's easier to love.