It’s a fun thing to do while visiting New Orleans: hop on a small boat for a swamp tour that includes up-close (but not too close) encounters with alligators, snakes, and other native critters. That’s what the characters in Hungry expect, at least, not realizing their excursion will also include being chased after and chomped upon by a ferocious rogue hippopotamus.
The first trailer for when-animals-attack thriller Hungry is here, and the funniest part of the title—aside from the way it evokes the classic kiddie game Hungry Hungry Hippos—is that the dialogue makes it clear this toothy beast isn’t trying to eat any of the tourists and guides. Instead, it’s out here living its best life, having a blast terrorizing humans that’ve strayed into its corner of the bayou.
Yes, it’s a lot of shrieking, splashing, and CG in the darkness, but it also looks like it could be a fun watch, especially if you’re a fan of movies like Lake Placid, Rogue, Crawl, and Anaconda (original version). Here’s the official synopsis:
“Hungry follows thrill-seeking tourists on a riverboat tour through the treacherous Louisiana swamplands. Lured off the beaten path by the promise of an exclusive adventure, they soon find themselves fighting for survival against a ravenous hippopotamus lurking beneath the bayou’s murky waters. Set in a mysterious and dangerous landscape, Hungry is a tense survival thriller about an impossible battle with one of nature’s deadliest predators.”
Please enjoy the poster too, which doubles down on the whole game reference. And, frankly, despite claims to the contrary, it does look like meat’s back on the menu…
Hungry is written and directed by James Nunn; it stars Madison Davenport, Joaquim de Almeida, Olivia Bernstone, Tracey Bonner, Michel Curiel, Jim Meskimen, Samantha Coughlan, and River Codack. It hits VOD June 23.
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