The Hunt works reasonably well as an action-thriller and but what it strives for more than that is having biting social satire. For me, a lot of the social commentary was way too on the nose, as if writers Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse are trying so desperately to convince us that this is a tale that holds up a mirror to modern America. They want us to understand that if we don’t come together, we’re going go right off the deep end into anarchy. It’s not a weak message, but The Hunt doesn’t have the proper intelligence to make it work.
It’s upsetting for me to sound so scathing because the film is undoubtedly fun when it’s merely diving into the violence and mayhem it so eagerly embraces. Horror fans will get a kick out of some of the action sequences, which don’t skip on the gore (the first 5-10 minutes are viscerally entertaining in the best way). I was reminded a bit of the first Purge film which also worked best when it was playing as a home invasion thriller rather than trying to make some political statement. The sequels do a better job balancing those two elements and it’s a lesson that The Hunt should’ve taken heed to. There’s a proper balance to make this all work, and instead, we have two different films trying to battle for supremacy.
Maybe The Hunt is a victim of way too much hype. The film was set to be released last September. Still, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions announced that in the wake of the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings, they would be suspending the film’s promotional campaign, which was quickly followed by the film being pulled from the studio’s release schedule. Even before the schedule change, the film made headlines when President Donald Trump to The Hunt being made to cause chaos. The film’s plot, which has “elites” gathering up unsuspecting Americans to hunt for sport, refers to their prey as “deplorables,” a word Hilary Clinton infamously used to describe some Trump supporters. This was the kind of publicity you couldn’t buy, and it gave the film some headlines it would most likely be lacking.
The premise is intriguing enough. Running the elite hunting group is Athena (Hilary Swank). Athena is at the center of a controversy known as “Manor-gate,” where online rumors swirled that she was hunting humans for sport. Thought it was fake news, she decided to one-up the internet and follow through with what she was being accused of. This hunting season introduces to a slew of people you’ll forget about quickly even though they’re played by performers who deserving of more screen time like Emma Roberts, Ike Barinholtz, Justin Hartley and Ethan Suplee. The only person worthy of our attention in these games is Crystal, played by Betty Gilpin from Netflix’s Glow. They assume she isn’t entirely with it thanks to her Southern drawl and unassuming manner, but Crystal is smarter than the rest of the hunted, and she’s a force to be reckoned with.
Betty Gilpin is worthy of better material, but she elevates her scenes in The Hunt and makes them much more engaging than they have any right to be. She shows confidence and tenacity every time she’s on-screen, and she brings a quiet sense of humor to the role. If there’s one reason to see The Hunt, it’s because of Gilpin. The only other performer with any part of significance is Hilary Swank, who is perfectly fine here and gets to throw down with Gilpin in pretty epic fight scene during the film’s climax, but I had to wonder how Swank found herself here. Swank is a two-time Oscar winner for Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby, but despite all her talent, she’s never entirely made it to the big leagues, and it’s still something that baffles me. Maybe it’s her choice to maintain her living in roles such as this, but she’s better than most of the material she chooses. This film included.
The Hunt has a lot of aspirations, and sometimes when a film tackles too much, it can lose a bit of direction. Had this embraced its B-movie leanings a bit more without trying to educate us with forced social commentary, I definitely would’ve enjoyed it more. Still, as it is, The Hunt is solid on action but misses the mark on being social satire worth listening to.
