A medieval warrior pursues the monster that killed his daughter,
hoping to add the creature's head to his grisly collection. HORROR
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The Head Hunter (2018)Directed by Jordan Downey
Written by Kevin Stewart and Jordan Downey Starring Christopher Rygh and Cora Kaufman |
This movie caused a stir on the festival circuit and I can see why. A simple story about a father trying to avenge his daughter's death is the backbone (pun intended and you'll know what I mean after watching this) of this fantastic character-driven horror/revenge/monster movie. Don't let the lack of dialogue turn you away because this movie proves that the language of cinema is universal. Cause and effect show us the routine the Father (Rygh) goes through daily going out collecting heads.
He is getting the orders from somewhere by messages sent on arrows and he always comes back with another head for the wall. Just not the one he's been looking for. This is a slow burn but it more than pays off in the end as our hero manages to get what he's been looking for. The ending has a twist which may or may not please the viewer but I enjoyed it. It's amazing what a drone can do for production value as there are some truly beautiful landscape shots. The lonely, hostile setting is breathtaking and offsets the tense and claustrophobic scenes in the latter parts of the film. Fun fact: the budget of this flick was $30,000. You read that right. Talk about bang for your buck. Jordan Downey made the most out of his budget and gave us a gory, brutal, and atmospheric horror flick fully embracing the indie spirit. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. It should be added to your collection as this a stellar example of less-is-more ingenious filmmaking. Shudder, also known as the best five bucks I spend a month, has picked up this gem so check it out when it hits the streaming service December 5th. |