The Hunt is on! And, who’s side are you on? Does that really matter in this movie?
And, oh man, is it on! From the very beginning of “The Hunt”, we are blasted, stabbed, shot, impaled, blown right out of the cannon. And then we never look back, save for only a few moments to catch our breath to say “Did that just happen?”
“The Hunt”, directed by Craig Zobel and released in May 2020, has stirred quite a bit of controversy since previews first hit the scene last year. Due to its extreme violent nature the movie’s release date was pushed several months due to real-life horror in mass shootings in America. And then, just as it was set to be released in May 2020, there’s this little thing called COVID-19 that began to wreak havoc in the world.
So, the movie itself was released directly to streaming apps and devices instead of the theaters. Which might be why this movie hasn’t been talked about more. It’s flown under the radar a little, from what I have seen.
The first thing I’m going to say about “The Hunt” is that, if you don’t have a sense of dark humor, find humor in gore in Horror movies, or have an open mind, especially (and specifically) with the real events happening in our nation, this movie is NOT for you!
“The Hunt” pits Americans, Red-Americans and Blue-Americans, left and right, against each other in a fight-to-the-death, see-who-survives-to-the-bloody-end movie. The greatest thing about it though, is that this movie does NOT pick sides. And the ending adds credence to that and still has me laughing to this day of writing my review. I cannot explain that further, as it would give away something crucial and vital to you watching this movie and experiencing it for yourself.
The Writers make fun of both sides, which is where I feel the humor is rich and relevant to current times. Blood is spilled on both sides, reminding us in gory fashion, that ALL Americans bleed red. That way the focus of the movie does not just highlight the distaste between political parties in our country, but allows you to enjoy the movie in true horror genre blood-fest glee. As horror movies should be done and enjoyed!
One thing I loved about the set-up in this movie, as well as the reveal and twist later in the movie, oh yeah…and the jaw-dropping slammin’ fight scene between Hillary Swank and Betty Gilpin, the splatter gore, also the great lead of the story in Betty Gilpin….well I guess I really liked a lot of things from this movie. What I really meant to say is, while being introduced to the kidnapped characters, which are to be prey to the abductors, it isn’t clear at first who the lead person or survivors of this movie will be, as they kill off one character after the other in very gruesome ways.
Let’s talk about said gruesome gory death scenes. They don’t hold anything back in “The Hunt” with brutal exploitation of the soft human body when met with weapons made to destroy, maim, and fillet to pieces anything in its path.
The writing was very well done if you are looking for a (Wo)Man versus (Wo)Man shootout to see who survives in the end. Betty Gilpin, as the lead actress steals the show…once she becomes the regular character we follow in the movie. Humor is interlaced with beautiful gore…like I said…if you have an open mind about the top-of-the-layer topic, partisan hatred and war. And…oh man….the fight scene that I mentioned between Hillary Swank and Betty Gilpin is one for the ages. I had to go back and watch it a second time to really grasp the intricacies played out in the climax of the movie.
All that being said, I really feel like “The Hunt” could be one of the best Horror movies of 2020, so far. Judging off the lack of the mega-hits being released out this year, it could land as my personal favorite of this tainted and infamous year, 2020.
Check it out! If you can handle it.
Yours Gorily, Mark’s Dark Corner.
Comentarios