47 Meters Down<\/em><\/a> with director Johannes Roberts.<\/p>\n\u201cI was googling, \u2018What are the most deadly animals on Earth?\u2019\u201d Nunn recalled with a laugh. \u201cHippos came up as one of the deadliest. It\u2019s wild \u2014 they kill upwards of 500 people a year, more than sharks, lions, elephants combined.\u201d<\/p>\n
That discovery sent Nunn down a fascinating historical rabbit hole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had recently been to New Orleans, which I loved,\u201d he explained. \u201cI had my animal, I had my location, and then I was like, \u2018Well, how do I get the hippo in Louisiana?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer turned out to be stranger than fiction.<\/p>\n
Nunn stumbled across the little-known true story of a proposed 1920s Louisiana hippopotamus ranching initiative designed to solve both a meat shortage and the spread of invasive Japanese water hyacinths clogging southern waterways.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were going to bring hippos to Louisiana to solve two problems,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cThe hippos love eating the hyacinths, and they also needed to feed the population.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally, Nunn envisioned the film as a 1920s-set period piece centered around the abandoned ranching operation itself. But practical realities \u2014 and audience perceptions of hippos as cute, harmless animals \u2014 forced a rethink.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone was like, \u2018Hippos are cute and bubbly and fun.\u2019 Nobody sees them as scary,\u201d he laughed. \u201cAnd then everyone was like, \u2018This movie is going to cost way too much money because it\u2019s a period movie.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Years later, however, the idea resurfaced when a producer encouraged him to revisit the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone loves creature features \u2014 they just get tired of sharks.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That renewed push allowed Nunn to reimagine the story in present day while retaining the historical framework of abandoned hippos left to roam the bayou for generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cLo and behold, 100 years later, we\u2019ve got generational hippos in Louisiana,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s how we have hippos in Louisiana.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what makes HUNGRY especially effective is Nunn\u2019s restraint. Rather than immediately revealing the hippos in full, he carefully withholds them, allowing tension and uncertainty to build beneath the waterline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve learned those lessons from Jaws<\/em>, haven\u2019t we?\u201d Nunn said. \u201cWith hippos, nobody really knows what they\u2019re going to get. We were able to tease it more.\u201d<\/p>\nFor much of the film, audiences catch only glimpses \u2014 rippling water, massive shapes undulating beneath the surface, ears twitching above the swamp. The effect is unsettling precisely because hippos carry such deeply ingrained cultural associations of cuteness and whimsy.<\/p>\n
Ironically, part of that visual inspiration traces back to childhood animation itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably closer to Fantasia<\/em>,\u201d Nunn admitted when discussing the film\u2019s now memorable ear wiggles and aquatic movement. \u201cThey subconsciously implanted it into my brain when I was five.\u201d<\/p>\nThat contrast between familiarity and terror becomes one of the film\u2019s greatest strengths. Nunn weaponizes the audience\u2019s comfort level with hippos, gradually transforming ballet-like movements and seemingly harmless mannerisms into something genuinely frightening once the full destructive power of the animals is unleashed.<\/p>\n
Visually, HUNGRY punches well above its budgetary weight thanks to Nunn\u2019s continued collaboration with cinematographer Job Reineke. Having worked together for more than a decade, the two approached the film with an intensely prep-oriented mindset that began long before cameras rolled.<\/p>\n
\u201cJob likes to plan everything,\u201d Nunn explained. \u201cWe talk about the sun, the orientation of the set, how the light\u2019s going to move through the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That planning became especially critical given the film\u2019s ambitious central location: a massive outdoor water tank constructed specifically for the production in Malta.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tank itself was built with the orientation of the sun in mind,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cWe wanted a fairly consistent backlight on certain parts of the set that would make it feel pretty, but also scary and visually bigger than the sum of the parts we could actually afford.\u201d<\/p>\n
That visual strategy extended beyond lighting into virtually every technical decision on the production \u2014 underwater photography, night-vision sequences, camera systems, lens selection, and even the physical mechanics of how to move cameras through the environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we\u2019re operating in the middle of a tank, essentially, you can\u2019t just move the camera like you would in a room on a tripod,\u201d Nunn explained. \u201cYou have to think about how you\u2019re physically going to get out in the middle of the water to film something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those considerations forced constant logistical problem-solving. Building separate dry sets for close-ups would have dramatically increased costs, while relying on cranes or movable platforms created additional time and budgetary complications on an already compressed five-week shoot.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we afford a crane reaching over the tank the entire time? Can we afford platforms? And if we can, can we afford the time it takes to move them?\u201d Nunn said. \u201cSo we had to employ a lot of technical thinking into how to achieve it. That\u2019s one of Job\u2019s strengths and one of our strengths together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The result is a visual language that maximizes the claustrophobia and danger of the swamp environment while simultaneously giving the film a cinematic scale rarely seen in modern creature features operating at this budget level.<\/p>\n
And those logistics were substantial.<\/p>\n
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Though set in Louisiana, HUNGRY was actually shot in Malta, where production constructed a massive 50-by-50-meter outdoor tank in the middle of an overgrown wooded area. Production designer Charlo Dalli transformed the location into a grimy, abandoned hippo ranch layered with rusted cages, swamp decay, and decades of accumulated grime.<\/p>\n
But building a convincing bayou in Malta came with unexpected complications.<\/p>\n
\u201cMalta\u2019s so dry,\u201d Nunn explained. \u201cIt was constant wet-downs and pouring water on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the massive water tank itself presented challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t heated at all,\u201d Nunn laughed. \u201cIt was only filled about three days before we filmed, so it didn\u2019t have time to warm up. And there was a tiny leak somewhere in the tank, so it had to just keep getting replenished with cold water. It never ever ever had time to reach any kind of temperature. So bless the actors \u2014 they were cold for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
That physical discomfort ultimately added another layer of realism to the performances as the cast spent much of production soaked, shivering, climbing across submerged branches, and navigating Nunn\u2019s murky hippo-infested waters.<\/p>\n
A major contributor to HUNGRY\u2019s carefully calibrated tension is the work of editor Richard Blackburn, whose collaboration with Nunn helped shape the film\u2019s unusual rhythm of mounting dread punctuated by sharp jump scares and bursts of chaos.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard\u2019s a great editor,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cHe\u2019s a good friend. He actually did One Last Shot<\/em> for me as well this year, so we\u2019re two for two.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat especially intrigued Nunn was the contrast between Blackburn\u2019s sensibilities and his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my \u2018One Shot<\/em>\u2019 movies, I love realism,\u201d Nunn explained. \u201cI\u2019m pushing for that, whereas Richard comes from movies like Face\/Off<\/em> and John Woo. He has this old-school Hollywood mentality \u2014 double cuts, heightened energy \u2014 so somewhere in the middle we found this hybrid of realism meets Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hungry7.png\")
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Ironically, the extensive visual effects work required for the hippos created a rare post-production advantage. Because the creature VFX took nearly a year to complete, Nunn and Blackburn were able to repeatedly revisit and refine the film in stages \u2014 a luxury most productions never experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually you\u2019ve got ten weeks to edit a movie, finish it, and it\u2019s out there,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cYou don\u2019t get that same level of finesse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, HUNGRY evolved through multiple editorial passes as new material arrived over time. Initial assemblies were revisited after Louisiana drone footage was completed. The film was then reworked around animatics and evolving hippo sequences before undergoing further refinements once near-finished VFX shots were delivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really amazing way of doing it,\u201d Nunn reflected. \u201cThings improve the more you see them. You put something to bed for a week and come back to it, and you\u2019re going to make it better because you\u2019ve had time to sit with it and see the flaws in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That extended refinement process ultimately allowed Nunn and Blackburn to sharpen the pacing while preserving the film\u2019s deliberate suspense-building structure.<\/p>\n
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Nunn was equally enthusiastic about casting Jim Meskimen as retired firefighter Tim after discovering the actor\u2019s audition tape.<\/p>\n
\u201cJim is Hollywood royalty, as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Nunn said enthusiastically. \u201cHis mum is Marion Ross from Happy Days. She\u2019s Mrs. Cunningham, so she\u2019s a national treasure\u2026 and he\u2019s a very famous impressionist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ironically, Nunn had only recently discovered Meskimen\u2019s work online before the actor\u2019s audition tape landed in his inbox.<\/p>\n
\u201cI even texted my producer, \u2018Jim Meskimen for Tim!\u2019\u201d Nunn laughed. \u201cAnd then I watched the tape, and he was just amazing. Not only was he great, he was by far and away the best Tim tape that we had. So I was like, \u2018We have to get him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Nunn was equally passionate about casting Madison Davenport as the film\u2019s lead, Sistene, identifying her as his first choice from the outset.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was offered the role straight away,\u201d he said. \u201cShe just immediately wanted to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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That emphasis on character ultimately separates HUNGRY from many modern creature features. While the film certainly delivers brutal attacks and crowd-pleasing jump scares, Nunn was adamant that the people caught in the hippos\u2019 path feel like fully realized human beings rather than disposable cannon fodder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to create characters that you actually like,\u201d Nunn explained. \u201cCharacters that have some kind of purpose and meaning rather than just being props to be eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Nunn, emotional investment was essential to making the suspense work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted audiences to actually give a shit when somebody died,\u201d he said bluntly. \u201cThat was very intentional.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, Nunn also wanted the screenplay to organically seed the human flaws and bad decisions that place the characters in danger in the first place \u2014 greed, ego, thrill-seeking, and the temptation to push beyond safe boundaries for the promise of something bigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason they\u2019re out there is because somebody paid some money to go a bit further than they should have,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
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Interestingly, Nunn revealed that the original screenplay contained even more character material than what ultimately appears onscreen. But finding the proper balance between emotional depth and creature-feature momentum became one of the film\u2019s biggest creative challenges during post-production.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was probably another ten pages of character stuff,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cAnd then in the edit, me and Richard and the producers had to figure out what makes them feel real, but also what drives what this movie is.\u201d<\/p>\n
That balancing act became central to shaping the final tone of HUNGRY \u2014 preserving enough humanity to emotionally ground the story without allowing the film to drift too far away from the suspense and propulsion audiences expect from a creature feature.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wrestle with when it becomes too much,\u201d Nunn admitted. \u201cAt a certain point you go, \u2018Hang on a minute\u2026 are we making a drama now?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, that careful calibration between emotional realism and genre thrills becomes one of HUNGRY\u2019s greatest strengths. The audience isn\u2019t simply waiting for the next attack. They\u2019re invested in the people trying to survive it.<\/p>\n
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That care extends into the film\u2019s broader thematic undercurrents involving greed, environmental disruption, and humanity\u2019s tendency to underestimate nature\u2019s unpredictability \u2014 thematic echoes that further connect HUNGRY to the Spielbergian adventure thrillers Nunn openly reveres.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Jurassic Park<\/em> remains his all-time favorite film.<\/p>\n\u201cIn a way, this is like my mini Jurassic Park<\/em>,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cIt\u2019s me living out my boyhood dream of making a film like that.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd for creature-feature fans, that enthusiasm is infectious.<\/p>\n
By blending old-school suspense, practical production ingenuity, emotional investment, and a wonderfully outrageous premise, HUNGRY delivers the kind of earnest, crowd-pleasing creature-feature filmmaking that reminds audiences why they fell in love with the genre in the first place.<\/p>\n
And if Nunn has his way, this may only be the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already got sequel ideas,\u201d he teased. \u201cThree cool ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
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by debbie elias, exclusive interview 05\/21\/2026<\/p>\n
HUNGRY is in theatres on June 3, 2026 and on VOD on June 23, 2026.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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