A brilliant Western thriller movie is airing on TV tonight

It’s a typically hard film to stream so seize the opportunity.

Written by Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven) and directed by Antonia Bird (Face), the 1999 film is set in the 19th century and sees Pearce play Captain John Boyd, a scared US soldier sent into exile at Fort Spencer, a remote military outpost high in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

“After arriving at his new post, Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman, F.W. Colghoun (Carlyle), who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide — a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue,” the plot synopsis reads.

“Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify Colghoun’s gruesome claims.”

Co-starring David Arquette, Jeremy Davies and Neal McDonough as the other members of Boyd’s post, we won’t reveal any more about Ravenous’ plot except to say it is loosely inspired by the real-life Donner Party.

While a critical and commercial flop upon release, the 1999 film is now seen as an absolute cult classic.

This is thanks to its genre-bending story, its darkly comic script, its gorgeous cinematography, its great performances and its score composed by Blur’s Damon Albarn.

Ravenous is airing on TV tonight on Film4 at 10.50pm. It will also be available to stream after it airs on Channel 4’s website.

Here are the other movies on TV this evening:

Belfast - RTÉ 1 - 9.30 pm

A young boy and his working-class family experience life in the tumultuous late 1960s in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kenneth Branagh's drama, starring Jamie Dornan and Judi Dench.

The Assembly - Virgin Media One - 10.00 pm

Actor Michael Sheen is interviewed by a cast of 35 individuals who are neurodivergent or learning disabled, with no subject out of bounds and no question off the table.

Man Up - BBC One - 12.30 am

A woman is mistaken for a stranger's blind date and decides to spend a chaotic evening with him. Romantic comedy, starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg.