The Hunt (dir. Craig Zobel), 2020

There are few things that unite America. One of them appears to be The Hunt, a film which had taken advantage of controversy and setbacks to hopefully see some financial return. Most infamously, the film was scrapped from release due to some tweets from our Dear Leader complaining the concept of hunting “deplorables” was liberal hypocrisy. On the other end, upon the eventual theatrical release days before COVID-19 shut down theaters nationwide, several left-leaning film reviewers complained the concept of liberal elites was harmful and inaccurate. One went so far to complain about the term “Comrade” being used once among the elites in the film. Sorry everyone, but I don’t think this film is necessarily meant to be taken seriously or as true-to-life. If anything, one of its more interesting political aspects would be how the “polarized” groups in America would react as I am sure both would find their portrayals insulting and stereotypical. Is that not the point?

The film opens with a group message complaining about the president and ending with a reference to “the manor” where “they get to hunt deplorables.” Right here is when all watching should laugh at the absurdity and realize this movie is just that: absurd. After a title card, a private jet flies our liberal elites to an unknown location with drugged deplorables in the back. There are 12 in total, but one dies in flight having woken up. When the deplorables wake up for real, they are in a Hunger Games-esque set up: gagged and scattered around a wooden crate. The crate itself holds three things: a pig, keys to the gags, and an armory of weapons. The surrounding woods are set with various traps and mines intended to kill the less inclined players.

It takes about 25 minutes for our protagonist to emerge: Crystal. There is no rush to offer backstory, as she appears insanely and inappropriately adept to survival. Traps other deplorables had bought into (about three-quarters of the cast), she suavely avoids. As the audience learns more about the world built and curated by these elites, Crystal still remains much of a mystery, even toward the end. Avoiding spoilers, I can say the film actually makes as much sense as such a premise would allow and the tone is consistent throughout the 90 minute runtime.

Personally, I found the film to be fun, humorous, and visually appealing. Yes, there some pleasant technical aspects: cinematography, editing, and stunt choreography. The film is by no means great or revolutionary, but it is not bad either. There is humor in the extremes presented: conservative fringe-conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones and Jack Prosobiec and the liberal-elite perhaps best described as the billionaire class (you know, those who are for the liberal-cause until it threatens their [usually inherited] wealth). Ultimately, this film will fade into obscurity, only to be remembered as that one film a tweet from the then-President got pulled from release. That in itself is a bit of an accomplishment though, no?