Last summer, The Hunt made headlines when the President Trump lambasted the film for its first trailer, which depicted liberal “elites” hunting “deplorables” for sport. Per his tweet: “The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true racists, and are very bad for our country!”
After the resulting political outrage and a series of shootings, the studio pulled The Hunt‘s September release. Flash-forward to six months later, and the film is finally here. So what was all the fuss about?
The Hunt stars Betty Gilpin as Crystal, a woman who wakes up in the middle of nowhere, gagged, and finds herself on the run from a group of people who are hunting her for sport. Along with 11 others, Crystal struggles to escape the hunting ground and a series of elaborate traps. As the film unfolds, we learn the “hunters” are indeed liberal elites seeking revenge on “the hunted,” a group of right-wing fanatics.
The Hunt has two primary functions. One is a comedic, political satire that spares no particular side of the political spectrum (except perhaps those who are apolitical). The hunters pick each other apart for non-PC language as they murder their opponents for entertainment. The hunted cry about their right to bear arms as they aim machine guns at oncoming enemies. For all of the concern about the movie’s portrayal of politics and its embrace of liberal Hollywood, it is largely non-political in its stance: everyone is overreacting. Everyone is guilty. We are all part of the problem.
On this level, the film sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. A fair amount of the jokes land. As the story progresses, it occasionally veers into cheap stand-up comedy territory. The larger problem with the satire component, though, is its role in the plot. The Hunt uses a mystery-box approach. Who are these people? Why them? What caused this? This is where The Hunt seems to have a more serious underlying message, albeit one that feels as ridiculous as it is toothless. It functions better as an insult vehicle than sharp political commentary.
The second function of The Hunt is a revenge-fueled action flick. Here, the direction from Craig Zobel and performance from Gilpin are more successful. The first 20 minutes of the film are probably the best part of The Hunt, followed by one final, well-choreographed blow-out battle at the end. When The Hunt revels in its absurdity and violence, it’s far more entertaining than when it’s trying to be mysterious. The film is also incredibly fast paced, clocking in at a brisk and expedient 1 hour and 29 minutes. It may not be successful at every turn, but it doesn’t belabor its points.
The Hunt isn’t a bad movie, but it doesn’t have nearly as much on its mind as the controversy surrounding it. Much like the 2014 The Interview, it’s a so-so film caught up in political circumstances far beyond its reach.