Film Review : Hungry (2026)

Animal attack movies in horror are no new thing but Hungry gives a fun refreshing take on it by giving us a hippo. Sometimes, simple is better.

We follow a group of tourists in the Louisiana swamp who after going off route on their bayou tour in hopes of seeing a gator, end up getting their boat capsized by an unknown animal. Soon though they discover that there is a hippo in the waters around them far more dangerous than any gator they were hoping to see.

Our cast of characters together actually work well here as well. We get character development and only one of them comes off as unlikeable, though her reasons for being that way are clearly shown and understandable even, which is hard in films like this. So often we are stuck with groups of people who we either can’t wait to see die or are so unlikeable that it becomes just a waiting game. Hungry however plays it off well with some heart set between these cast of strangers forced to work together in hopes of surviving.

Now the make or break part would be the hippo itself. We are teased with it going into it with some great camera and shadow work before we fully see it. It looks fantastic really. Its giant, menacing, and truly feels like a threat that is fresh to the genre. Its a mix of practical effects and digital work that gives it a realistic feeling even down to its menacing size.

I will say those hoping to see some great gory hippo kills might feel disappointed. While we do get kills most are shown off screen or out of sight. The final act as well may feel a bit underwhelming even but in the grand scheme of it, it doesn’t feel bad at all.

The film is a shockingly fun time. It knows what it is but also gets a message across with dialog about hippos and how they don’t hunt or eat people unless its territorial. We get dialog and characters that don’t feel forced and a build up that when we finally get to see our hippo feels like a solid pay off. Fans of this type of horror film will get a pleasant surprise here for sure.

Score :

3 / 5