Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing and realize
they are being hunted by a group of rich people. COMEDY/HORROR
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The Hunt (2020)Directed by Craig Zobel
Written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof Starring Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Wayne Duvall, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Amy Madigan, Reed Birney, Glenn Howerton, Steve Coulter, Dean J. West, Vince Pisani, Teri Wyble |
After dealing with some crazy amount of controversy due to its political themes, The Hunt was pulled from its original release date. And, it seemed like we weren’t even going to get it at all there for a moment. But, about a month ago, it was announced the film would be getting released after all with an accompanying new release date and marketing campaign to go with it. A pretty good one too, I might add. It banked heavily on the film’s reason for being delayed and got me genuinely excited for what the finished product would be. Then the reviews came out. And they were fairly divided. But, regardless, I wanted to check it out. Plus, with all the many film delays currently happening, I don’t have many options at the moment. So, how was this much hyped, politically charged, horror comedy? Simply, not good. Let’s get into the details.
I honestly no longer understand the controversy with this film. The Hunt does its best to poke fun at both the liberals and conservatives. Again, does its best. The main problem is this is one of the least subtle films I’ve ever seen. Instead of making clever jokes, characters go on what seems like more of a rant about some political issue. Seriously, the movie just seems to pause and beat you over the head with it. There is no subtlety here, folks. And, unfortunately, the actors aren’t able to save this. Quite frankly, most of them have their comedic talents completely wasted here. Hilary Swank and Betty Gilpin, who have been singled out as a positive, are clearly doing their best here. But, even they can’t save this script. I’ll give them credit for trying, though. There are only two things I’ll say I actually enjoyed in this entire film. The first is the numerous gore effects. They don’t disappoint and gorehounds, like myself, will be satisfied. The other is how this film messes with who the audience thinks the main character is going to be towards the beginning. Wish the rest of the movie was this creative. The Hunt is a train wreck of a film. Its political themes are more heavy handed than they are funny. Its script just doesn’t work one bit. Actors are clearly trying, but still not able to save it. This is a film which shouldn’t have been delayed for its political message; it should have been delayed for its poor quality. After this, I would be okay if we didn’t get another politically charged horror film like this. |