The Hunt review

THE HUNT: 

BLUMHOUSE-PRODUCED DARK COMEDY ACTION-HORROR FILM IS A BLOODY GOOD TIME! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Betty Gilpin in The Hunt

            One of the most controversial and talked about movies of the year goes full force in The Hunt, the new horror/thriller film produced by Jason Blum (Split/Glass, Get Out, The Invisible Man (2020)) under his Blumhouse Productions studio and is directed by Craig Zobel (Great World of Sound, Compliance, Z for Zachariah) best known for being the co-creator of the animated web series, Homestar Runner alongside The Brothers Chaps. Originally slated for a September 2019 release but was canceled due to the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings in early August of that year as well as a negative response from President Trump and the controversy surrounding the film’s premise. 

            Ever since the film’s announcement and trailer came out, people have criticized its storyline about a group of “elites” gathering and hunting down unsuspecting Americans for sport, the script itself using the term “deplorables” to describe the hunted most infamously used by Hilary Clinton to describe Trump supporters, and even declaring the entire movie as an attack on Trump supporters. But if films like Joker, Team America: World Police, and The Interview taught us is that controversy related to a movie will not stop people from going to see it and if anything it will make them want to see it even more whether you’re for or against it. 

            The Hunt finally made its way onto the big screen on March 13, 2020 and March 11 in the UK but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and movie theaters closing down, the film was given a digital release shortly afterwards. Sadly, I had the misfortune of skipping out on its theatrical release for Bloodshot, big mistake and immediately after that the movie theaters started closing so I didn’t get the opportunity to watch The Hunt in theaters, hopefully I’m making up for it now. 

            Now that I’ve gotten all that out of the way, how does The Hunt hold up? It’s complicated. For me personally, I had a blast and getting wrapped up into the story, invested in the characters, and admiring the gratuitous bloody violence and dark sense of humor, but at the same time the narrative may be a turnoff point for other viewers so you really need to know exactly what you’re getting into with this movie and if you’re someone who is easily offended by certain subject matter and/or have very high political beliefs then this probably isn’t the movie for you. 

            It’s the kind of the movie that will test you and make you think about the social and political themes that the film tries to get across. There will be discussions being made about this movie and there will be both agreements and disagreements but if we can all be respectful and mature of other people’s opinions, I think we’ll have a much better time going into The Hunt. 

            The film follows twelve strangers who wake up in a clearing with no recollection of where they are or how they got there. Unbeknownst to them, they have all been chosen for a very specific purpose…to be hunted down for sport by a group of globalist elites at a remote Manor House. 

            Many are killed during the hunt, but some survive including a woman named Crystal (Betty Gilpin-Isn’t It Romantic, Stuber, Coffee & Kareem) who knows the game better than the hunters do and completely derails their plan by going on a manhunt of her own, picking off the elites one by one. Crystal turns the tables on the hunters eventually making her way towards the mysterious woman behind it all, Athena (Hilary Swank-Insomnia, Million Dollar Baby, Logan Lucky). 

            The film also stars Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors 1 and 2, Suicide Squad, Blockers) as Staten Island, Amy Madigan (Roe VS Wade, Field of Dreams, Gone Baby Gone) as Ma, Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew, Scream 4, We’re the Millers) as Yoga Pants, Ethan Suplee (Mallrats, American History X, My Name is Earl) as Gary, Justin Hartley (Passions, Smallville, This Is Us) as Shane, Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, A.P. Bio, That ‘80s Show) as Richard, Sturgill Simpson (One Dollar, The Dead Don’t Die, Queen & Slim) as Vanilla Nice, Teri Wyble (Bullet to the Head, The Walking Dead, Terminator: Genisys) as Liberty, Macon Blair (Blue Rain, Green Room, The Florida Project) as Fauxnvoy, Reed Birney (House of Cards, The Blacklist, Titans) as Pop, Usman Ally (Star Trek into Darkness, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix series)) as Crisis Mike, and J.C. MacKenzie (Vinyl, Dark Angel, The Irishman) as Paul. 

            Overall, The Hunt may not be as deep or game-changing with its social satire as some of Jordan Peele’s thrillers, it’s nevertheless an entertaining bloodbath from start to finish that does manage to make you think while you’re having fun. It’s a very tongue and cheek and self-aware movie that just wants to have fun with this very touchy subject matter, all that’s important is whether or not you’re willing to go along with the joke. 

            It’s generally a satire on the profound political divide between the American left and right wings which will be divisive with those who watch this movie. However, what’s really clever about this movie is that it doesn’t pick a side and throws jokes at just about everyone, and it keeps the political sides of both the hunters and the hunted relatively vague which leaves it up to the viewer to make their own conclusion. 

            Even if you’re not paying attention to the social satire and watching it as an action-comedy, The Hunt is relentlessly entertaining. The film never drags, there’s always something happening, it’s funny, has some well-made action sequences, and the story and characters keep you invested with Betty Gilpin’s portrayal of Crystal as the highlight. 

            Granted, I haven’t seen her in that many movies, but I’ll go ahead and say it, Betty Gilpin in this movie is fantastic and one of the best horror movie protagonists in recent years alongside Elizabeth Moss in The Invisible Man and Samara Weaving from Ready or Not. She has this very intense, stone-cold personality and that her character is stuck practically in the middle of a war, but she doesn’t care and does everything she can to fight to survive. 

            Gilpin is also very funny and shares some humorous bickering between her and a man named Don who accompanies her on her journey. Not to mention this film takes quite a risk by not fully establishing her character until near the climax which is pretty much when everything starts to come into place. 

            The Hunt is a relentlessly over-the-top thrill ride with plenty of bloody violence and dark humor to boot while also making you think about its social satire and which side the characters stand. It isn’t quite on par with Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us or even Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park but then again it doesn’t really need to be. The Hunt is on!