HUNGRY (2026)

Studio: Signature Entertainment
Director: James Nunn
Writer: James Nunn
Producer: Ben Jacques
Stars: Madison Davenport, Tracey Bonner, Michel Curiel, Jim Meskimen, Samantha Coughlan, Olivia Bernstone, River Codack, Joaquim de Almeida

Summary:

After their swamp tour goes disastrously wrong, a group of stranded tourists must fight for survival while being hunted by a massive, bloodthirsty hippopotamus deep in the Louisiana bayou.

Review:

Yes, the movie is called Hungry. And yes, its central threat is a murderous hippopotamus terrorizing tourists trapped in a Louisiana swamp. No, however, this isn’t a horror adaptation of the classic Hungry Hungry Hippos board game, despite the internet’s eagerness to make that connection. A few premature assumptions have fueled that misconception, and the filmmakers have probably been more than happy to enjoy the extra attention generated by the comparison, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual film.

In my recent review of Deep Water, I once again complained about how interchangeable shark thrillers have become. The subgenre has reached a point where simply placing another group of people in the ocean with another hungry shark is no longer enough to stand out. New ideas are desperately needed if these survival thrillers hope to remain exciting. As it turns out, replacing the shark with a hippopotamus might be enough of a novelty on its own. Beyond swapping predators, Hungry follows the familiar blueprint of countless “animals attack” movies, simply featuring a creature that’s far less common in this particular type of survival story.

Like most entries in the genre, the film begins by assembling a colorful collection of characters who each occupy their own recognizable niche. Fortunately, nobody blends completely into the background. Every passenger boarding the swamp tour possesses at least a basic personality that helps distinguish them from the rest of the group.

First are Sistine and her best friend Hannah. Their vacation in New Orleans quickly takes a disappointing turn when Sistine receives a phone call informing her she’s just lost her job. The setback eventually leads to an emotional breakdown as she reflects on how life never seems to reward the enormous effort she puts into everything she attempts. Hannah, by contrast, embraces a far more carefree attitude. Outgoing, energetic, and convinced tequila can improve almost any situation, she enthusiastically accepts an offer from charming boat captain Rodrigo, who persuades the pair to join his alligator tour by offering them a discount.

Despite waking up with impressive hangovers the following morning, Sistine and Hannah board the boat as planned. Joining them are kind-hearted single mother Sally, her cheerful father Tim, and Sally’s teenage son Mikey, whose brooding teenage mood instantly disappears the moment he notices two attractive young women joining the tour. Also aboard is Dionne, an ambitious businesswoman who spends nearly every moment clutching her cellphone despite venturing deep into the swamp—and for reasons known only to her, she somehow decided designer high heels were appropriate footwear for the occasion. Completing the group is Walker, a grizzled Portuguese hunter who comfortably fills the obligatory role of the experienced survival expert.

With introductions complete, Rodrigo leads his passengers deeper into the Louisiana bayou. It doesn’t take long before disaster strikes. After straying into dangerous waters, the boat capsizes near the mutilated remains of an enormous alligator whose head has been violently torn away. Although the story wastes little time placing its characters in immediate danger, viewers hoping for an early look at the movie’s oversized hippopotamus will need to exercise some patience. For much of the first hour, the animal remains almost entirely hidden, functioning as an unseen predator lurking somewhere beyond the reeds.

Because the hippopotamus spends so much of the movie concealed, Hungry fills its middle section with many of the familiar survival-thriller ingredients audiences will already recognize. Characters repeatedly struggle through murky water, pause to stare emotionally at photographs of loved ones while contemplating their possible deaths, and embark on a series of increasingly desperate missions to recover emergency supplies, GPS devices, and other conveniently scattered equipment. Naturally, not everyone survives. Several characters meet unpleasant ends, although the film remains either respectfully restrained or simply limited by its budget, avoiding especially graphic or gruesome depictions of the attacks themselves.

The easiest way to describe Hungry is to lower expectations slightly before acknowledging that it manages to exceed them more often than expected. The screenplay never develops its characters beyond fairly simple sketches, but each receives enough background to feel like an actual person rather than disposable cannon fodder. No one should mistake this material for awards-worthy drama, nor does it aspire to become anything more ambitious than straightforward entertainment. Even so, the cast approaches every emotional moment with enough sincerity that viewers may find themselves caring more about the characters than initially anticipated.

Taken as a whole, Hungry proves surprisingly well made for a modest independent production featuring a cast that largely lacks mainstream recognition. Its limited budget occasionally becomes apparent, particularly in the way the hippopotamus remains hidden until the climactic sequences, where darkness conveniently helps disguise the limitations of the computer-generated effects. Even so, nothing about the production feels lazy or carelessly assembled. James Nunn keeps the camera moving, regularly shifting angles and employing energetic editing to maintain momentum, even during stretches where the suspense develops gradually rather than explosively. Throughout the film, there’s a noticeable level of craftsmanship that elevates the material above what many similar low-budget creature features typically deliver.

Ultimately, Hungry is exactly the movie it appears to be. It isn’t an edge-of-your-seat thriller destined to become a beloved cult favorite or something audiences will revisit over and over again. As a modest survival film designed to provide an undemanding evening of entertainment, however, it accomplishes precisely what it sets out to do. Anyone pressing play already knows the type of experience they’re signing up for. While there are certainly scarier, more suspenseful, and overall stronger animal attack movies available, there probably aren’t many other options featuring a killer hippopotamus. On that level alone, Hungry offers enough novelty to justify the trip into the swamp.

Review Score: 65