Main cast: David Bowie (Julian Priest), Giovanni Ribisi (Eddie Foden), and Liisa Repo-Martell (Dru)
Director: Tony Scott

Sanctuary kicks off the second season of The Hunger, but this time, I am not fooled by the pedigree of the people involved this episode. If the previous season is anything to go by, they would front load the first few episodes with big names and then let the mostly French nobodies sink in the rest of the season! 

So, what’s new? Well, there are no opening bookend segment so sadly there is no Terence Stamp, but oh my, the late David Bowie is here. 

Mr Bowie is Julian Priest, a provocative artist whose works constantly caused scandal and outrage. At one point, he performed surgery on his own arm and peeled off his skin all in the name of art. 

He is currently holed up in Block K of the Federal Penitentiary at Buffalo, New York, but he’s not a prisoner. He’s willingly made the abandoned prison his HQ. 

So, in this episode, one day a fellow named Eddie Foden, sporting a bullet wound and bleeding profusely, shows up there and asks to see Priest. While he is initially undecided as to whether to let this fellow in, Priest’s interest is piqued when he realizes that Eddie is wanted by the cops for the murder of his acquaintance. So, of course he lets the fellow in.

You know, I suspect the pitch to David Bowie went like this: “You just have to strut along, look sexy in your usual effortless way, and monologue some pretentious artist mumbo-jumbo and you’ll get paid!” 

This is because that’s what the entire episode is: Mr Bowie looking so good enough to eat that I can ignore the annoying loud screeches that pop up now and then, or the constant repeats of the same flashback sequences to fill up screen time. 

The last few minutes of this episode is joyfully gruesome, but I am sure there are some plot holes along the way leading up to that point. 

Still, no matter. This episode is all about David Bowie oozing sex appeal and charisma up the wazoo, and watching him charm his way to the finish line is a pleasure indeed. The gore is just icing on the cake.