ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

"The Hunt" Movie Review

Updated on March 21, 2020
popcollin profile image

Collin's been a movie critic since 2009. In real life, he works in marketing and is also a novelist ("Good Riddance" published in Oct 2015).

The Hunt
The Hunt | Source

More famous for raising Trump’s ire than anything else, and after being initially shelved in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings, The Hunt finally arrives in theaters six months after its scheduled release. Though it follows a plot we’ve seen many times before—humans hunting humans for sport—the film benefits from being in the hands of superb director Craig Zobel (Z for Zachariah) and also from a largely winning script by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse (son of Lindelof’s Lost partner Carlton). This is far from just a Surviving the Game or Hard Target redux.

Betty Gilpin stars as Crystal, one of twelve “deplorables” who come to in a field, gagged and not at all sure what is going on or where they are. As bullets start flying, they quick come to realize they are the prey in a high-stakes game of survival. Some have heard rumors of the so-called Manorgate hunt only to now understand they’re part of it.

While some of the hunted don’t last through the first minute (including a handful of recognizable actors in nifty cameos) Crystal survives and makes it her mission to not only keep surviving but take out the hunters one by one. Along the way, the true nature of the hunt is made clear (in what amounts to a clever twist), as Crystal slowly starts putting the pieces together and turning the tables.

Gilpin (TV’s GLOW) rules the day, turning in her first lead performance in sterling fashion, anchoring The Hunt with what can only be referred to as delightful redneck charm. Crystal’s fierceness and intelligence pull us onto her side almost instantly, and whether it’s saving her own life because she knows the price of cigarettes in Arkansas or telling one of her fellow hunt-ees the most warped version of The Tortoise and the Hare ever, she’s one of the most memorable characters to hit screens so far this year.

Of course, much of the credit also goes to Lindelof and Cuse for taking a fairly standard firebrand of a set-up and turning it on its head. It’s not a flawless victory by any means—the messaging occasionally gets too heavy-handed for its own good, and the script blows an opportunity to give the hunters the same depth and dimension as the hunted), but there’s more than enough still at play here to make it worthwhile.

Zobel, for his part, keeps everything tight and brisk (the movie clocks in at an efficient 90 minutes), and his choreography of the entire hunt, including the climactic one-on-one fight, are spot-on and believable, even as the entire concept is played as a gory (though goofy) horror-satire. There’s no doubt that plenty of folks will have an issue with the film, not only with its violence but its politics, but for those able to just kick back and use it as a bit of escapist entertainment, The Hunt is worth putting in your sights.

Rating

3.5/5 stars

'The Hunt' trailer

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)