The Hunt

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

The Hunt is the polarizing prodigal child of Blumhouse Productions written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof and featuring the direction of Craig Zobel. This is a film that fought as hard as its main character, Crystal (Betty Gilpin), to be released. Originally slated for a September 27 wide release, The Hunt didn’t make its major theatrical debut until March of the following year for its violent themes and divisive approach to violent, bipartisan hatred. The thing about The Hunt is that there probably is no “right” time to release a film that pits the morally self-aggrandizing left against the deplorable self-indulgent right. That said the film is perfectly adequate in every way. Not exceptional by any means, The Hunt is well-paced, bloody as hell and a generally good time if you have the wherewithal to not get offended at incredibly overt and over-the-top political commentary.

The liberal elite are privileged, virtue signaling individuals with a twisted sense of humor and lust for conservative blood. The conservatives, on the other hand, are the uneducated good ol’ boys and gals that kill endangered animals and tuck their guns in to bed each night. The Hunt, itself, is an elaborate game orchestrated by liberals in which conservatives are drugged, dropped off somewhere and hunted for sport. Yes, it is insane. Yes, it is on the nose. Yes, it is a gross generalization of both political parties. That’s the point, duh! The pacing of the film really does come at an advantage as it affords audiences little time to try an ascertain the overarching message of the movie. The Hunt is a film best used for entertainment, rather than enlightenment.

Twelve strangers wake up in a grassy knoll, mouths stuffed with ball-gags. As the herd of strangers, full of familiar acting faces like Justin Hartley and Emma Roberts, work to rid themselves of their gags and other restraints, pandemonium ensues. They’re under fire. There’s even a live pig waiting to be liberated from a giant box full of weapons. The big names die in a matter of moments, leaving a few choice deplorables left to make a run for it. Some of the lucky few who manage to escape until the next checkpoint are Staten Island (Ike Barinholtz), Big Red (Kate Nowlin), Gary (Ethan Suplee), Don (Wayne Duvall) and the film’s diamond in the rough, Crystal (Betty Gilpin).

Crystal is a mumbling, cussing, hard living woman who will stop at nothing to survive – and it’s clear that while the circumstances may have been different, she has fought for her life before. The Hunt is a film that absolutely nobody asked for, but it does deliver a central heroine that is always welcomed in the horror space. Betty Gilpin punches, kicks, shoots and smokes her way through this film as its only likable character without ever breaking a sweat. She is the antithesis of the final girl, a new breed of unapologetic woman who sometimes mumbles her way through a run-on sentence. Crystal is the embodiment of the uneducated conservative, right up until she’s not. Crystal is ex-military. She catches on to the pretentious drivel dished out by Athena (Hilary Swank) and her compatriots and she’s suffering from a case of mistaken identity.

The rest of the film follows the conservative quarry through a maze of traps, executions, cheap shots and Orwellian references at the hands of the star-studded liberal elites including the likes of Glenn Howerton as Richard, Amy Madigan as Ma and, of course, the diabolical Athena.  As the deplorables are picked off one-by-one, Crystal makes her way through her predators with ease, all leading up to a delicious and gratuitous final battle that pits the Million Dollar Baby up against Snowball. The biggest twist of the film is ambiguous at best – a clumsy attempt at demonstrating the dangers of making assertions based on the internet, or out-of-context communications – but it does a good enough of a job at reminding audiences that it is in fact a satire.

Director Craig Zobel, best known for producing and directing notable television series such as “The Leftovers,” “Westworld” and “Mare of Easttown,” had been out of the feature film space for many years before stepping back into the arena for The Hunt. Under his direction this all-star cast delivered a string of slightly over-the-top performances, which ended up working in his favor given the nature and subject of the film. Cinematographer Darran Tiernan, also more familiar with the television space, struggled to capture anything meaningful – though the crew redeemed themselves in the film’s final sprawling battle between the hunter and her hunted.

The Hunt won’t change your life and it definitely won’t change your political stance, but it will provide you with ninety-minutes of gory, furious fun led by the phenomenal Betty Gilpin. If you’re feeling hesitant because of the film’s controversial reputation – don’t. Both sides are equally made the butt of the joke and the film’s utter competence keeps it too tame to truly elicit the flames of passionate rage. The Hunt is fine, and it’s fun, but what will get you through is the thrill of unadulterated chaos and the knowledge that it cannot truly hurt us after the credits roll.

The Hunt is now available to rent and own on VOD.