Hunted is a horror film from French comic book artist and filmmaker, Vincent Paronnaud, who most might be familiar with as the co-director of Persepolis. He co-wrote the film with Léa Pernollet and David H. Pickering, and it follows a young woman named Eve (Lucie Debay), who decides to relieve some stress from her job by going out to a bar one night. At the bar, she rejects the advancements of a drunken guy who can’t seem to take no for an answer, but a seemingly helpful stranger (Arieh Worthalter) gets him to leave her alone. She ends up leaving the bar with him.
Unfortunately, when she gets into his car, the stranger’s accomplice (Ciaran O’Brien) enters, and begins driving the couple away. She quickly realizes something is up, but they won’t let her leave too easily. Even when she escapes to a store, they find her, and take her. A car crash gives her the chance to escape deep into the woods, where the stranger and his severely injured accomplice begins to make chase while she not only has to run for her life, but is forced to deal with the elements as she goes deeper and deeper into the woods.
That premise might seem thin and derivative, but the filmmakers seem to be aware, keeping the film at a brisk hour-and-twenty-six minute runtime while also making the most out of the situation with sprinkles of dark humor throughout. What also sets it apart from similar thrillers is its reimagining of the Little Red Riding Hood story, complete with Eve’s red hoodie, which provides a nice contrast to the muted, Earthy colors around her. It begins with a brief but stunning sequence where a mother tells her boy a fairy tale by the campfire, one that is all about survival in the world of men, and the plot that soon follows plays with those thematic connections.
What the film boils down to is a genre exercise about the danger of unchecked male aggression, toxic masculinity, and rape culture, which is all imbued into the stranger. I also doubt the fact that him being the only character speaking with an American accent to be an unintended detail. The film tackles these ideas in a way that is certainly not going for subtlety, often going for a more primal and – appropriately enough – a fairy tale vibe. Paronnaud proves to be more than capable at not only building tension, but bringing a strong, evocative mood in the filmmaking.
The performances are strong across the board. Lucie Debay doesn’t necessarily get a ton of material to work with here, since most of it is her screaming and running, but boy can she scream and run. Jokes aside, she does manage to tap into the film’s primal quality in a really engaging way, and she makes the eventual turning-of-the-tables really cathartic. Arieh Worthalter is clearly revelling in all the sleazy and violent tendencies of his character, while you certainly hate the guy, he makes him really fun to hate.
All in all, Hunted is a thoroughly tense and visceral film, one that manages to bring flourishes that go from surreal to borderline mythic. I was quite impressed with what Vincent Paronnaud managed to do with seemingly modest resources, and it certainly helps that the script is efficient and full of personality. The performances are great, and it all ultimately builds to a greater truth about the experiences of many women in the world today. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the film, and I was also surprised by how often the film would zig when I expected it to zag. It’s not too gruesome if that’s something that worries you, though there might some triggering moments early on, but it’s overall fairly approachable for anyone looking to have a thrilling time.
Hunted is now out on Shudder.