Following multiple issues with its release in theaters, the Blumhouse and Universal movie The Hunt is now available on Blu-ray. Initially, the film was to premiere in theaters in 2019, but the studio pulled the release in the midst of real-life violence in the United States. A new release date was given for the film in March, but as this new premiere date just happened to coincide with the coronavirus pandemic and worldwide movie theater shutdowns, the film had a very short run on the big screen.
Perhaps The Hunt playing in theaters just wasn’t meant to be, and given the political divide in the United States with mounting tensions and real-life violence, that could also be for the best. In addition to its violent content, the film does have a lot of political humor, and the writers take some shots from both sides of the aisle. Of course, that means there may be many who’d find the film to be offensive from the start, and The Hunt has been criticized by pundits from both of the major political parties.
Still, while some of the jokes add a layer of social commentary to the film, The Hunt is not necessarily a political movie. What we really have here is a story of a group of rich elites that organize the mass kidnapping of a group of individuals they see as “deplorables,” setting them free outdoors so they can be hunted down like animals. The results are just as violent as you would expect, as the body count is pretty high and there’s a lot of blood to go around.
What shines most brightly in The Hunt, however, are the comedy aspects of the film. To put it bluntly, I found the movie to be absolutely hilarious. It gets pretty funny pretty quickly and kept me entertained all the while through. I must say that I particularly enjoyed Betty Gilpin as one of the lead characters that can put up a much better fight than most of the others. Other members of the ensemble, such as Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Ike Barinholtz, and Hilary Swank, all entertained as well.
I was hoping for a Director’s Commentary to be included in the special features, but the Blu-ray does come with some interesting behind-the-scenes featurettes that show just how fun it was for the cast and filmmakers to make this bizarre movie. Still, because I found The Hunt to be so funny, I feel like it’s a film I’ll be revisiting time and again when I’m in the mood for a bloody good horror-comedy movie. If you have a dark sense of humor, The Hunt might be for you as well, and I recommend you check it out.
The Hunt is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.
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