Movie: Starve

 

Production Year: 2014

 

Tubi Provided Summary: Three friends researching a town legend about a feral, cannibal race living in sinkholes are captured and forced to fight others or lose and be eaten.

 

Film Can Be Accessed At: https://tubitv.com/movies/504923/starve?start=true

 

Does This Movie Pass The Bechdel Test: No

 

Character Analysis:

  • Beck: Level-headed, ambitious, insistent, curious, caring, mix of masculine and feminine traits
  • Candice: Stubborn, whiny, hysterical, cold, strong fighter, mix of masculine and feminine traits
  • Jiminey: Whiny, sensitive, impulsive, mostly feminine traits
  • Ezrin: Brooding, cold, calculating, masculine
  • Runyan: No character development aside from being Ezrin’s goon.

Death Analysis

  • Jiminey: First to die, quick death scene, shot in the head from below the chin, killed by Jiminey (suicide)
  • Runyan: Second to die, moderate death scene, stabbed with an electrical wand, killed by Beck
  • Ezrin: Third to die, extended death scene, shot repeatedly in the chest, killed by Beck

 

Survival Analysis

  • Beck
  • Candice

 

Final Statistics:

Character Sex Ratio: 1 Female: 4 Males

Character Survivor Ratio: 1 Female: 1 Male (not including ambiguous characters)

Character Death Ratio: 0% of Females to 75% of Males (not including ambiguous characters)

 

Final Takeaways: 

Starve offers an interesting take on the overused kidnapping trope in the horror genre. The cast is almost entirely male which, while not unusual for the genre as a whole, is highly unusual for kidnapping films which usually have mostly female victims. Additionally, Candice, even after being revealed as pregnant at the start of the film, puts up a good fight. She is strong and violent when fighting for her life and is highly assertive in her relationship with Beck where she openly questions his judgment and puts her foot down on her opinions.

These aspects are not the only things this film has done that are contrary to the norm of the genre. There is a large disparity in violence as well, leaving 75% of the male main characters dead while the only female lead survives. Additionally, the male deaths are rather violent, something often reserved for female characteristics. Unfortunately, this film does not pass the Bechdel test, but despite this, analysis with the Sex Role perspective proves Starve to be a surprisingly good watch. 

Shared by: Ariana Nichols
Image Credit: Horrornews.net