The Hunt

The Hunt

Initial release date: March 13, 2020

Studios: Universal Pictures Blumhouse Productions

Tagline: The Most Talked About Movie of the Year is One That No One’s Actually Seen

Plot: 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.

Cast

Betty Gilpin (The Grudge; Stuber) - Crystal

Hilary Swank (Netflix’s Away; Fatale) - Athena

Ike Barinholtz (Blockers; The Lego Movie 2) - Staten Island

Wayne Duvall (Trial of the Chicago 7) - Don

Ethan Suplee (Motherless Brooklyn; Netflix’s The Ranch) - Gary

Emma Roberts (Ugly Dolls) - Yoga Pants

CHristopher Berry (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) - Target

Sturgill Simpson (Queen & Slim) - Vanilla Nice

Kate Nowlin - Big Red

Amy Madigan - Ma

Reed Birney - Pop

Writers(s): Nick Cuse

Damon Lindelof (HBOs Watchmen; Tomorrowland)

Director: Craig Zobel

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout (90 min)

“The Hunt” ended up being one of the most divisive movies of 2020. The plot of the 2020 flick was a bit controversial when the movie was announced.

And, even though “The Hunt” can be really dark, it can actually be very entertaining. There is a lot of explosive action scattered throughout that generally leads to very bloody results. There is even some dark humor thrown around which can honestly be funny.

Granted, “The Hunt” isn’t a movie for everyone. But, the movie can be surprisingly entertaining.

Here are some interesting tidbits about “The Hunt”:

• The movie was yanked from its original release date due to mass shootings, then rescheduled for March 13, 2020, to then be affected drastically at the box office by the pandemic. It was released one week before theaters began to shut down.

• The final fight between Crystal and Athena was described by screenwriters Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof simply as “John Wick in a Nancy Meyers movie.”

• The movie was partly inspired by “The Most Dangerous Game,” the famous 1924 short story by Richard Connell, but with a satirical twist.

• On August 7, 2019, Universal announced that in the wake of the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings, they would be suspending the film’s promotional campaign. Several days later, the film was pulled from the studio’s release schedule until it popped back up after the beginning of 2020.