‘The Hunt’ Review

What an unwarranted noise did people make about The Hunt before it was even released. You could certainly expect some discomfort from its home country since it does have very extreme characters from both left and the right of political spectrum, however it is much tamer than you’d think it would be. I’d only give a slight heads-up if you’re an American and find yourself to be very much locked further into either side because it will have remarks about it but otherwise it’s a fast, decent movie made for everyone.

Forgive me for the phrasing but thankfully the film comes out with metaphorical guns blazing as after two short scenes you get right to the hunt. There the direction plays around with viewer’s perspective multiple times and offers plenty of surprising choices. Eventually we do find our main character, Crystal (Betty Gilpin), who is also the least readable from everyone. Gilpin really carries most of the non-action scenes by herself but you don’t really mind that due to her fierce performance. With the exception of Crystal, it’s a shortcut to paint over others very broadly so there’s no real need to question their characterisation.

The Hunt doesn’t have all that much weight pulling it down. Action sequences notably towards the end are shot and executed pretty well all while using the spaces to their full extent and the location travelling parts of it aren’t overly drawn-out. Director Craig Zobel tightly compresses it all into quickly moving 90 minutes and the cliche-catchphrase-filled dialogue thankfully isn’t used constantly. There is (what I assume) a mix of practical and visual effects used to amplify the gore so it doesn’t appear to be too dreamy with CGI or too real-world-like with just blood splatter. What prevents the film becoming a satirical classic is that it’s a bit toothless overall.

Smileys: Betty Gilpin

Frowneys: Nothing too bad really

Watch the movies first and then write pieces about them after.

3.0/5