The Hunt

Modern movie controversies are an interesting subject matter in our evolving unpredictable climate. Sometimes these are unintentionally created via poor studio interference, casting choices, sensitive scenes, and physical effects on audience members (such as strobe effects that trigger seizures). Then there are those on the other side of that coin by aiming to be daring in an age that's becoming more sensitive online and in-person to remarks made throughout regarding political viewpoints. This brings us to a situation that's rather interesting given how tumultuous the state of affairs has become in recent years. The Hunt, an action comedy political satire, was set to be released in September 2019 but due to the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings around that time it ended up being postponed to March 2020. The marketing campaign decided to use that to its advantage by calling the film that "they didn't want you to see" or the remark in this poster "The most talked about movie of the year that no one's actually seen". It was briefly released into theaters for a week or two before being moved to online rentals or purchases. It didn't catch my eye right away but I decided to see what all the "fuss" was about with it as I continued my 2020 film catchup by renting it online. After watching it, I'm surprised with how much fun I had with this goofy but flawed experience. 

What's it about? The story follows a debacle that occurs when lower class individuals are brought together by richer elites to kill them for sport. It's very apparent that is leaning making fun of liberals and conservatives based on the comments from these separate groups. This comedic approach is attempting to call out both sides of that spectrum for their own outlooks most commonly associated with them. To gauge how gory and violent the film can get, the first 10 minutes give a proper showing of how wild things can get (even to a silly degree). It becomes an unpredictable trek through trouble to track down the hunters and figure out what the main purpose behind their motives, which is certainly something that feels like it makes sense once you get to it. The action itself knows how to keep certain exchanges brief and where to use their small budget the best in big spectacles (primarily the beginning attack and ending showdown).

For as well executed as those aspects can be, however, there are a few noticeable problems that holds this back from reaching great quality. The joking jabs it takes at those political extremes are very hit or miss where the obvious ones fall flat while some of the other wacky clever lines are funny. There are also ambiguous statements made in the story that aren't really explored much and feel either they are throwaway lines or parts not explored enough due to the short runtime.   

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actor to focus on is Betty Gilpin. Her performance is really good to watch as a flawed heroine working to stay ahead of those pursuing her. Her demeanor fits the fun not taking itself seriously attitude and she does a great job with the stunt work near the end. Honorable mentions goes to Hillary Swank for making a more memorable impression compared to the rest of the cast with her acting that did its job for her role, despite her limited screen time.

 

Overall Consensus: The Hunt is an action comedy that thrives from its lead actress performance, silly tone, unpredictable plot, and wild action/gore, despite suffering from writing issues and hit or miss humor. ⭑⭑⭑1/2 Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors. You like seeing seeing comments made about the politically left/right and don't mind how obvious they are. You like some gore with violence (it's selective here due to the low budget). You're looking for something that doesn't take itself seriously and is unpredictable. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors. You dislike seeing seeing comments made about the politically left/right that are too obvious. You are sensitive gore with violence (it's selective here due to the low budget).