Time To Hunt is a South Korean film written and directed by Yoon Sung-hyun that was acquired and just recently released by Netflix. It takes place in a not-too-distant future where the country has been ravaged by an ongoing financial crisis that has left many living in extreme poverty. Many businesses are closed, entire streets feel like ghost towns, and the few people that seem to have a job are protesting due to exploitative practices by their employers. Here we meet three friends, Jang-ho (Ahn Jae-hong), Ki-hoon (Choi Woo-shik), and the newly out of prison Jun-seok (Lee Je-hoon).
The three are small time crooks, but Jun-seok has dreams of everyone going off to an island where they can thrive and live in peace, away from their poverty stricken environment. However, in order to accomplish that plan, Jun-seok hatches up an idea to rob a local gambling den. It would be their biggest job yet, and his friends are unsure of it being a possibility. Eventually, they agree on the plan, they buy some guns from a dealer, and enlist the help of an insider who works at the gambling den, Sang-soo (Park Jung-min). The heist turns out to be a great success.
If that sounds like it’s a spoiler, don’t worry because Yoon Sung-hyun is about to pull the rug out from under you. The heist happens about a little over half an hour into the film, and it is after that where the things really kick into gear. The people they robbed are not happy, so they send the ruthless and unstoppable Han (Park Hae-soo) to find whoever is responsible, utilizing any means he deems necessary. What started off as a heist film morphs into a chase thriller as the friends find themselves being pursued by Han wherever they go.
What starts off as a heist flick slowly morphs into a chase thriller that borders on full on slasher as Han leaves a trail of bodies on his path towards our three leads. It is genuinely nerve-wracking to watch, especially during the sequences where Han catches up to them, and they are forced to make a quick escape without getting killed. Yoon handles the tension incredibly well, and he uses the setting to his advantage, with much of the film taking place in abandoned buildings and deserted spaces. It really hones in on the sense that these guys are on their own, and they have to use their wits to get away from Han’s grasp. It’s exhilarating as hell.
It also helps that you really root for these guys. The film is a surprisingly strong and tender story about friendship, and you really buy into the relationship between everybody. The actors have a good rapport with one another that feels like it has years of history behind it. Yoon lays a strong foundation during the first half hour to get you invested, and Ahn, Choi, and Lee are more than capable of carrying that foundation through the following 90 minutes where things get really intense.
If there’s any drawbacks to Time To Hunt, they are largely minor. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of its seemingly dystopian world. Certain connections between supporting characters that are important for later moments didn’t feel immediately clear. The ending might prove divisive, but I think it works more thematically in connecting with the idea of systems keeping people in poverty, though I can see how it might still be a stretch for some. Still the film is still incredibly effective where it counts. The filmmaking is stellar, making wonderful use of color, space, and sound. The booming, echoing gun fire is especially good. This is one of those acquisitions that Netflix unceremoniously dumps into its service, the official American Netflix YouTube channel doesn’t even have a trailer, not unlike the similarly treated Psychokinesis, so it will probably fall under many people’s radar, but it is absolutely worth your time.