It’s always the most unassuming things that seem to unintentionally generate a lot of buzz due to unwarranted controversy. I still vividly remember the uproar over the Seth Rogen, James Franco comedy, The Interview, and the way our country collectively came together selling out special screenings for the film as if it was some kind of act of resilience against North Korea, only to then get mad at the fact that it was just another silly Seth Rogen, James Franco comedy. I don’t know, I thought it was pretty funny. The situation was still beyond absurd. And given we’re in the heights, at least I hope, of 2020’s ridiculousness, I can’t imagine what response The Hunt would cause given its sudden delay right after a mass shooting and anger from right wing figures up to and including the President of these United States due to the supposed content of the film, which they haven’t seen. And I really do mean “imagine” in that last sentence because unlike The Interview, The Hunt can’t seem to catch a break as it comes right in the middle of the Coronavirus outbreak that is likely going to have many skipping theaters until things die down.
What a year it’s been, huh?
Anyway, loosely based on the Richard Connell short story, The Most Dangerous Game, The Hunt comes curtesy of director Craig Zobel, working off a script my Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof. The film not only updates the story, but it puts in a very topical, and very political spin on the famous premise. Here, twelve strangers wake up in the middle of nowhere, and quickly realize they are being hunted. The thing is that they all have something in common, they seem to lean politically right, and hold strong conservative opinions. Some of the more conspiracy oriented members of this crew believe they are a part of a secret game held by liberal elites, where they track down average Americans, and hunt them down for sport. So, they try to work together to fight back, and survive.
It’s easy to see why such a premise might put people on edge, but it could theoretically lead into some compelling social commentary, especially considering Lindelof’s involvement as a writer, given his work is largely defined by their ambitious narrative, weighty themes, complex storytelling. That makes it all the more surprising that The Hunt is as thin as a film like this can be. As a satire, the film is remarkably undercooked. This isn’t so much about trying to figure out whether the film leans left or right, it’s simply hard to figure out what the basic messaging of the film is. It’s not like it’s vague enough to bring your own interpretations, literally everything about the film is as blunt and in-your-face as can be. That’s not an issue, the issue is that despite how obvious everything presents itself, the actual idea that I am supposed to take away from it is totally unclear.
So much of the dialogue feels like it was generated by an algorithm that was fed all the Twitter trending topics from the past few years. Everyone from the elites to the so-called deplorables are presented largely by easy to recognize stereotypes that seem largely uninterested in exploring any humanity beyond those stereotypes. It’s fine enough when it’s just played for laughs, the comedy largely works, but when it comes to saying anything particularly meaningful about the situation and the people involved, my mind is an absolute blank. When certain things are revealed about the nature of the hunt, it seems like the film is more into touching on the idea of cancel culture and the nature of a post-truth world more than it is the partisan divide that defines all the character dynamics, but even those aren’t quite given the time needed to resonate. I honestly don’t know what the filmmakers were going for.
It ultimately helps that the film that as an action movie, it’s actually pretty damn good. Craig Zobel hasn’t made anything that leans into genre as heavily as this before (previous films are Great World Of Sound, Compliance, and Z For Zachariah, the latter two I can vouch for being very good), and he handles himself well with the action scenes. They’re exciting, fairly well choreographed, and the gore is great. The final fight scene is a delightfully over-the-top and brutal hand-to-hand combat sequence that is impressively constructed and works wonders with an audience. Early on, it’s fun seeing the film spend time with certain characters, only to kill them off, and shift to a different perspective as the strangers get hunted down. It really is a blast to watch the mayhem unfold.
On top of that, the performance from Betty Gilpin, who plays the lead character Crystal, is simply incredible. It’s unlike anything I’ve really seen for an action heroine in recent memory. It’s a strange mix that is in one sense very awkward, yet confident, charismatic, yet stone cold, and empathetic, yet brutally efficient in killing folks left and right. Despite a fairly unassuming presence, she holds herself well in the necessary physicality of the role. The way she moves and handles herself against the bad guys are believable, and it becomes so easy to root for her as she finds out what’s really going on. I adored every weird, little choice she made. The rest of the cast is solid, made up of reliable folks like Ike Barinholtz, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Glenn Howerton, Hilary Swank, Macon Blair, Wayne Duvall, and Amy Madigan, but they are mostly set in one dimensional roles where they simply repeat political buzzwords at one another.
In a way, I guess I’m not all that surprised The Hunt turned out the way it did. American filmmakers are just not that good at telling overtly political stories, or at least, they’re certainly not as good as they used to be. I think we live in a time when exploring politics in media can really do some good, especially through avenues such as satire. However, as far as an exercise in satire goes, The Hunt is toothless in its impact and utterly incoherent in its messaging, relying on thinly veiled references to hot button issues and modern political jargon, but it’s ultimately empty in those nods. It’s a disappointing result considering the talent involved, and the ideas and topics that they are trying so hard to evoke. Thankfully, it’s still a very entertaining actioner with a fantastic lead performance. I was thoroughly engaged, even if it was by mostly superficial elements. Some day, I hope we get a movie that’s actually worth the controversy.