Review by Emily Craig (@emillycraig)
Directed by: Debbie Rochon
Starring: Lynn Lowry, Tiffany Shepis, Carmine Capobianco, Brian Fortune, Robert Bozek, Suzi Lorraine
The plot is ropey, but Model Hunger is fantastically stomach churning and quite a thrill to watch. While the story never really amounts to anything, this is still high class horror, featuring some great performances.
Model Hunger is the first feature film directed by scream queen Debbie Rochon (Dollface, Santa Claws), who is accustomed to being the damsel in front of the camera rather than behind it. The film follows Ginny (Lynn Lowry), an ex adult model who was criticised for being a little curvy for the industry; since then, she’s been cooked up away in her home dwelling on the past, and has also gained a taste for human flesh. She plays the stereotype of the little old lady who minds her own business, but what nobody knows is that she actually keeps a torture chamber in her house and eats the inside of female private parts (yes this happens). Debbie (Tiffany Shepis) and her husband Sal (Carmine Capobianco) move in next door, and Debbie becomes more and more suspicious of Ginny.
This film doesn’t beat around the bush; it’s pretty much straight blood and gore in from the start. I appreciate this, as it sets a precedent and you automatically know that what comes after will be even more brutal than the previous scenes; always a good thing in my eyes.
I must say Lowry is spectacular at playing Ginny. Watching her, she gives me an unnerving feeling, and the fact that she is supposed to be (even if she doesn’t quite look like it) an older lady makes it even creepier that such a woman is capable of these horrible things. The television show 'Suzi’s Secret', which is Ginny’s favourite and is played throughout the film, is also very strange and uneasy to watch, and adds to the film's mockery of the modelling industry and how women are perceived.
Although it is pretty self-explanatory why Ginny has gained this hatred for young pretty women, it is never quite answered why she wants to eat them. I don’t know if it’s because she believes if she eats a part of them she’ll become young and beautiful again or any other kind of metaphor; it’s just not mentioned.
The plot is ropey, and there are some significant holes there, but Model Hunger is fantastically stomach churning and quite a thrill to watch. While the story never really amounts to anything, and Debbie’s suspicion of Ginny becomes quite boring, this is still high class horror, featuring some great performances.
The plot is ropey, and there are some significant holes there, but Model Hunger is fantastically stomach churning and quite a thrill to watch. While the story never really amounts to anything, and Debbie’s suspicion of Ginny becomes quite boring, this is still high class horror, featuring some great performances.
