‘The Hunt’ Review: “A Violent Political Satire”

In 2019, there was a massive wave of gun violence in the United States. As any average citizen in the states knows, there was also another wave of violent films being released in the midst of all of this. Unlike the years before, there was a film that would be met with many challenges and obstacles to see its release because of said violence. That film was The Hunt.

Now, let’s put something into perspective: this is the same studio that’s given us four Purge films, two seasons of a Purge TV show, and is working on a fifth film. None of those were met with as much negativity and push back as The Hunt. I can promise you, they are far more violent. It puts into your head the standstill the United States is at with gun violence.

More so, a lot of the negativity surrounding the film stemmed from the very simple plot. A group of far left liberals kidnap conservatives, and hunt them for sport. Of course, when you get to the meat of the film, there’s a lot more to it. This is ultimately what caused a lot of chaos within the media about the film. The liberals killing conservatives angle in the midst of the average gun violence that happens everyday in the U.S. (unfortunately).

Fast forward to March 13th, 2020… The Hunt finally gets it’s release. Dare I say, it’s one of my favorite political films. Director Craig Zobel (Z for Zachariah) took this well written script from Nick Cuse (The Leftovers) and Damon Lindelof (HBO’s Watchmen) and gave us something to definitely talk about this political year. The potrayal of the liberals in this film was extremely spot on. It was like a hint of the “liberals” you saw in Jordan Peele’s Get Out. The micro-aggressive racism and the performative political correctness that gets extremely annoying. They get it right down to the false feminism and gender equality.

Then you have the portrayal of the conservatives. Again, extremely spot on. They handle every angle from the right wing podcast, gun laws, etc. It’s very comical to see their interactions among each other vs. how the liberals act. The very fabric of this film is built upon political satire, and it nails it at every turn. The main political topic seems to be gun laws. The way it’s handled is very nonchalant and carefree, which can be seen as negative. Some would say it’s careless, but I think it’s genius.

Side note- can we go ahead and give Hilary Swank (Freedom Writers) and Betty Gilpin (GLOW) an award for Fight of the Year? Man, that may have been some of the best action we get all year. You definitely have to give credit where it’s due, Gilpin carried this film like Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs last year. From the time she first is seen onscreen until the end of the film, she has your full attention.

Swank’s character, as well, does an absolute amazing job of matching the energy and making things interesting. The two women give what I consider to be just flat out great acting for the audience. You definitely have applaud the entire cast Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors), Wayne Duvall (The Kitchen), and Emma Roberts (Scream Queens, American Horror Story, Nancy Drew), all did an amazing job playing their specific characters. Swank and Gilpin owned this film full force, though.

Overall, I loved The Hunt. As somebody on the outside looking in (in a way), this film was outrageously hilarious to me. The way Zobel and company were able to poke fun at both sides and expose the ridiculousness of a two party system was great. As your curiosity grows throughout the film, you’ll understand what I mean. This film is an absolute blast for fans of thriller films. But The Hunt takes things to another level in its final stretch, connecting its story to the classic work Animal Farm. Its incorporation into the film is magnificently brilliant, putting a through line between two works of political satire. You have to applaud the filmmakers on a lot of aspects in this film, and that may be the biggest one.

Go check out The Hunt in theaters now, and possibly streaming on demand soon!

Rating: 8/10

Have you seen The Hunt? What are your thoughts? Comment below and let us know!

Starring Betty Gilpin and Hilary Swank:

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are — or how they got there. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted, Crystal, turns the tables on her pursuers.