Way over the top in terms of gore, violence, and political satire, The Hunt will definitely entertain those who are able to look past the surface and see the film for what it's trying to say.
“In this subversive satire, a group of elites gather for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt ordinary Americans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of The Hunted, Crystal, knows The Hunters’ game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off one by one as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman at the center of it all.”
The film opens with a group message text exchange between several people, joking, talking about politics, then a mysterious text about ‘the hunt’ coming up in which they get to hunt down several deplorables for sport. Fast forward to a private jet where several first-class passengers sit idly by waiting for their flight to land, when someone stumbles in from the rear of the plane, waking up from a drugged-state, confused as to where he is and what’s happening. The passenger is put back with other unconscious people laying on the ground, who later awaken outside in a field, their mouths gagged and a giant box left in the middle of it, full of weapons. Before they can figure out what is happening, they are immediately fired upon, with the group trying to stay together, but one woman goes her own way to hunt down the people that are hunting her.
The Hunt is a fascinating film. When I was thinking back to why the theatrical release date was pushed back, I honestly couldn’t remember which mass shooting was the cause, and that’s very sad. The Hunt, at its core, is a satire about the division we face in our country, and how wider it is growing each and every day.
On the surface, one might take one look at this and simply think it’s a liberal vs. conservative film and leave it at that, and if you’re one of those people, this film is directed specifically at you, highlighting the absurd stubbornness of people today, unwilling to look at facts or see beyond their limited view of things. This goes for both sides of the fence, and The Hunt makes sure to point that out, as it doesn’t take sides in this politically charged film, but uses this premise to send a message that things have gotten out of control and if we could all take a step back and realize it, we may not escalate to something as ridiculous as this. All the political theme mumbo jumbo aside, this is a dark satire at its heart, and a very funny one at that. While not everyone might be able to take a step back from their own views and laugh at things like the whole ‘crisis actor’ sequence, or some of the outlandish things some people do to be politically correct, those that can may be able to find a bit of humility, something all but gone in our society today. The violence and gore are way over the top, again, playing to that absurdity level, adding to the dark humor of the film.
Betty Gilpin is fantastic in this. You may know her best from GLOW, but she absolutely kicks ass in this film, a survivalist ex-soldier who doesn’t seem to even care about political sides, but is put into this situation nonetheless. Her unsympathetic attitude toward everyone, not just her captors but her fellow captives as well, is exactly the type of protagonist the film needed to keep the biases to a minimum. Although she’s the main character, there are so many other big stars attached to this that make hilariously short cameos I won’t ruin the fun in discovering them, and I recommend you don’t either. It was a lot of fun seeing who pops up next who’s being hunted.
The Hunt was a very risky film to make, and not everyone is going to understand what it is trying to achieve. Despite the ridiculousness of one political party hunting another, the film really does explore some very deep themes that we all could learn from, that despite what we all may think, what we believe to be true isn’t all the time.
Special Features
The film was reviewed via a digital copy, and included no extras. Check out the Blu-Ray on release for a list of extras.
