Hunter Hunter (2020) Review

 "Don't run."
-Renee Mersault



Joseph Mersault (Devon Sawa) is a fur trapper who lives in a remote cabin with his wife, Anne (Camille Sullivan), and daughter, Renee (Summer H. Howell).  When a lone wolf begins eating what they catch in their traps, Joseph decides to take care of the problem himself, but there is something much more dangerous than a wolf out in the woods.

Spoiler Alert!  I can't really say much about this movie without giving stuff away.  This is a really good, if brutal, thriller.  If that sounds like your cup of tea, go check it out and then come back and read this review.  SPOILERS AHEAD!  You've been warned.


What Works:

I really like Devon Sawa, so I was really excited to watch this movie.   This is a very serious role for him, which I'm not used to seeing, but I like it.  He's not the main character of the movie, which caught me by surprise, and he gets taken out of the plot way too early, but I liked what we got from him.

I was fortunate to not have seen the trailer for the film, so I didn't know much about it.  I just knew Devon Sawa was in it and it had something to do with hunting.  I wasn't so sure about the whole movie being about a killer wolf, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't the case.  The film takes a sharp turn in a different direction when Joe finds the wolf munching on a human hand.  It's a great reveal that I wasn't expecting.  Then seeing him find all of the bodies out in the woods...chills.

Hunter Hunter really knows how to ramp up the tension and that's thanks to it's score.  The music does a wonderful job of putting you on edge.  The film also lets the characters make discoveries before the audience and it forces us to sit and watch the characters react to what they are seeing before (usually) showing it to us.  The anticipation is intense.

Finally, the 3rd act is f**king brutal.  There isn't another way to put it.  The film goes full horror movie with some of the most horrific gore I've ever witnessed.  I wasn't sure how this film was going to end, but someone getting skinned alive was not high on my list.  This film dials itself up to 11, which I always appreciate.


What Sucks:

There are some things that the movie doesn't show us, and I wish it would have.  We never see the confrontation between Joe and Lou (Nick Stahl).  We only see Joe's body.  That was disappointing.  I would have liked to have seen how Lou was able to beat Joe.  We also don't get to see the aftermath of Renee's death.  Obviously, we don't need to see a bloody body here, but it could have been done subtly rather than not shown at all.

There are also some extremely stupid decisions made by almost every member of the cast.  I expected better from survivalist and people who work in the remote wilderness.


Verdict:

Hunter Hunter is a solid thriller with good performances across the board, excellent tension, surprising twists and turns, and an insane 3rd act.  I wish we had been shown a bit more of what happened and some of the characters make some really stupid decisions, but this movie has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good 

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