Directed by Craig Zobel and written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof, The Hunt is a highly controversial horror/thriller film with a dark sense of humour that has left viewers divided. The premise of this political satire is that a group of rich, snooty liberals kidnap a bunch of conservative ‘deplorables’ and release them in the forest to hunt them violently with high-powered weapons.

The film has an ensemble cast of talented actors. The snooty liberals are led by Athena Stone, played by the multiple Academy Award-winning Hilary Swank. Some of the other actors include Betty Gilpin, Ethan Suplee, Ike Barinholtz, Justin Hartley and Emma Roberts, to name a few.

Now, if the idea of liberals kidnapping and hunting conservatives with powerful weapons seems offensive to you because you believe that, if anything, the opposite would happen, and that liberals are incapable of such a thing, then congratulations, this film is not for you. The Hunt takes aim at trolls on either sides of the equation, and may not appeal to people who are too heavily invested in the politically-charged discourse that grips our world today.

A heavy-handed conservative satire, The Hunt is mildly entertaining because of its action

Even though I wasn’t offended by the satire, I wasn’t too impressed by it either. The film reminded me a little of a moderately entertaining episode of South Park, where the creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, were short on ideas. Just like certain episodes of South Park, the objective of the film seems to be to offend everyone.

However, the narrative does seem to have pro-conservative leanings. For example, all the liberals are one-dimensional idiots who have motivations such as fighting climate change and racism, or promoting gun control and equal rights. Meanwhile, the conservatives are more richly characterised. Without giving too much away, some of this is intended to be satirical, but a lot of the references seem to be in there for the sake of it. The problem with the film is that the satire isn’t particularly good. Some of it is clever and fun, but plenty of it seems to be random, designed to make the film topical. The theme of there being blame on both sides isn’t well-executed either.

All the liberals are one-dimensional idiots who have motivations such as fighting climate change and racism, or promoting gun control and equal rights.

Even though the satire isn’t always on target, The Hunt can be entertaining. The action is surprisingly good and thrilling with some gruesome and creatively violent sequences thrown in. Some of the deaths are particularly bloody, and the film certainly earns its R rating. The dark humour is certainly more effective than the film’s satire. I found myself chuckling at a couple of the scenes. There are a few surprising twists in The Hunt as well. Just when you think you know where the film is headed and who the leads are, the film surprises you.

The acting is surprisingly good for what initially appears to be a low-brow film. Despite the thin characterisation, Hilary Swank does a fair job in her role as the chief antagonist. Meanwhile, Betty Gilpin, who fans of Netflix’s GLOW will recognise as Debbie “Liberty Belle” Eagan, is excellent as the ‘deplorable’ who hunts her hunters. The Hunt is far from a perfect film, but it’s never dull.

Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language throughout

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 5th, 2020