The Hunt (2020) Universal/Action-Thriller RT: 89 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence and language throughout) Director: Craig Zobel Screenplay: Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof Music: Nathan Barr Cinematography: Darran Tiernan Release date: March 13, 2020 (US) Cast: Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, Emma Roberts, Hilary Swank, Justin Hartley, Glenn Howerton, Amy Madigan, Ethan Suplee, Macon Blair, J.C. MacKenzie, Wayne Duvall, Reed Birney, Teri Wyble. Box Office (affected by COVID): $5.8M (US)/$12.4M (World)
Rating: ***
Originally set to be released last September, Universal pulled the action-thriller The Hunt from the schedule following mass shootings in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX. It also came under fire from President Trump who decried it as “racist” and “inflammatory”. He and some members of the media described it as anti-conservative. NOT TRUE! If they bothered to watch the movie rather than base their assessment on the trailer, they’d see that director Craig Zobel (Z for Zachariah) sticks it to both liberals and conservatives. It makes both sides of the political spectrum look bad. It’s called satire, people!
The Hunt is yet another variation of The Most Dangerous Game only instead of dystopian teens with crossbows, it’s rich elitist liberals hunting conservatives for sport. The game is the masterwork of Athena (Swank, Million Dollar Baby), a liberal psycho who owns a huge expanse of property (aka “The Manor”) located in the last place in the world you’d expect. Here’s how it all goes down. A dozen conservative types (aka “deplorables”) from all over the country are drugged, kidnapped and taken to an unknown location where they are provided with guns. The unnamed participants include Emma Roberts (American Horror Story), Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project) and Justin Hartley (This Is Us). Then the shooting starts. Let’s just say that several cast members make an early exit.
The last woman standing (?) is Crystal (Gilpin, GLOW), the only conservative team member treated on more than a superficial level. We learn things about her as she fights to make it out of The Manor alive- e.g. her military service. She will ultimately face off against Athena in one of the most brutal girl fights I’ve ever seen.
The Hunt is CRAZY violent! The violence involves guns, knives, arrows and a variety of kitchen instruments. People are shot, stabbed, beaten, poisoned and gassed. One guy gets it through the eye with a high heel shoe. Another gets a grenade dropped down his pants. Somebody’s head is literally blown off. This movie is knee-deep in blood. It’s a hard R.
Shall we talk about the elephant and donkey in the room now? Of course, I’m talking about this movie’s politics. It’s extremely heavy-handed in that area. Although it skewers both sides, its knives are extra sharp for liberals, especially the rich elitist variety. They sit around offending each other with gendered language, politically incorrect racial terms and a host of other perceived verbal violations. They rant about sugar in soda, climate change and cultural appropriation. They do all this while joyously killing those who disagree with their views. They’re idiots and hypocrites, how about that? The conservatives, on the other hand, are presented mainly as rednecks and dimwits who support the Second Amendment, hate gays and expound conspiracy theories about crisis actors and the rich being out to kill the poor. Zobel takes that last one quite literally and builds a fairly amusing satire around it.
The only performances worth commenting on are Gilpin and Swank’s. Hollywood really needs to cast Gilpin in more movies and not just mediocre crap like Stuber. Look at the way she carries herself here. She moves rigidly like somebody who’s been worn down by life, but somehow finds the drive to keep moving forward. The way she talks about her military service tells us that it affected her in a way that might be dangerous for anybody that dares cross her. It’s a good understated performance that serves as a counterpoint to Swank’s outrageous overacting. We don’t even see her face until late in the game, but she’s a commanding villainous presence. Her character is the very definition of “psycho bitch”.
There are some well-executed scenes in The Hunt. One of the best is the scene in the small Mom and Pop convenience store run by Amy Madigan (Places in the Heart) and Reed Birney (House of Cards). I won’t spoil it, but it’s something. Zobel gives us a few nicely executed action scenes and a fair amount of tension with Crystal not knowing who or what to trust as she tries to survive the hunt.
I’m not going to try and sell The Hunt as the definitive political satire of the 21st century. Sure, it speaks to our times and what we’re currently going through with the sharply drawn dividing line between the two political groups. But do we really need to invest it with such seriousness? I think it’s best taken as a bloody Most Dangerous Game tale with satirical aspirations. It entertains, it amuses and, for those that dig on graphic bloody violence, it thrills. It’s a cool flick!
