DVD Movie Guide @ dvdmg.com Comedy at Amazon.com.
.
Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main
UNIVERSAL

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Craig Zobel
Cast:
Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz
Writing Credits:
Nick Cuse, Damon Lindelof

Synopsis:
12 strangers find themselves hunted.

Box Office:
Budget:
$14 Million.
Opening Weekend
$5,304,455 on 3028 Screens.
Domestic Gross
$5,812,500.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 7.1
English DVS
Spanish DTS 5.1
French DTS 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French

Runtime: 90 min.
Price: $34.98
Release Date: 6/9/2020

Bonus:
• “Crafting The Hunt” Featurette
• “Death Scene Breakdowns” Featurette
• “Hunter or Hunted?” Featurette
• DVD Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


The Hunt [Blu-Ray] (2020)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (June 9, 2020)

Remarkably, The Hunt can claim to stand as the most controversial movie of 2019 and 2020. Originally slated for release in August 2019, an uproar about the film’s themes gave the studio the heebie-jeebies, so they pushed back its debut to March 2020.

That allowed some distance from the original controversy but it didn’t entirely quell it, as the movie came with various threats against it. These failed to come to fruition, thankfully, so no one got shot as they munched their popcorn.

At a location simply called “The Manor”, 12 kidnapped strangers find themselves stuck together. With no memory of how they arrived, they struggle to cope with this perplexing situation.

The threat becomes clear before long, as they learn they’re there as part of a human hunt. Led by Athena (Hilary Swank), a group of liberal elitists gathers to hunt “Deplorables” for fun.

Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t sit well with the hunted. With Crystal (Betty Gilpin) at the fore, they fight back against their violent opponents.

Whatever collective memory moviegoers maintain of The Hunt, I suspect these thoughts will connect to controversies more than the film itself. After all the hubbub, it caused nary a flicker at the box office, though that result didn’t necessarily reflect potential interest in it.

The Hunt suffered from the misfortune of a March 13, 2020 release date – aka The Day Everything Shut Down. While the US didn’t literally close shop on that Friday, it started the movement toward self-quarantine, and movie theaters locked their doors en masse a few days later.

This left The Hunt with a tiny box office footprint, though it seems tough to figure out how much different the result would’ve been sans COVID-19. The film came with so much negative advance press that it seemed unlikely it would ever get a fair hearing.

By “fair hearing”, I mean a view that would assess the movie accurately. When conservative outlets heard about the film’s story in 2019, they leapt to the conclusion that it would play as a fantasy in which liberals got their revenge on MAGAs via violent retribution.

In reality, Hunt goes mostly in the opposite direction. Firmly satirical, the film goes out of its way to aim many of its barbs at the very liberals its critics thought it would glorify.

Make no mistake: Hunt aims to mock and lampoon liberals. The notion that the film would take a firmly anti-MAGA POV and exhilarate in the execution of Trump supporters proved woefully misguided.

Not that Hunt brings a one-sided affair, though, as it gets in its licks at the right wing side, too. Though those moments pale in comparison with the opposite POV, the movie throws in enough to offer some balance.

As much attention as Hunt got for its politics – misguided or not – the film works best as a basic thriller. For the most part, the stabs at social commentary tend to go for low-hanging fruit.

This means some of the material becomes amusing, but a lot of it feels predictable – in terms of the comedic swipes, that is. The film offers good twists overall, but these relate to its plot points, not its satirical moments.

As far as that side of Hunt goes, it proves fairly effective. Like I mentioned, it works best when it pursues basic action beats, as these seem clever and keep us engaged.

A good cast helps. Gilpin creates a strong action lead presence, and she manages the character’s comedic bits in a laconic manner as well. Throw in Swank and other known actors like Ike Barinholtz, Ethan Suplee and Amy Madigan to find an above-average group.

Ultimately, Hunt doesn’t quite find the mark, mainly because its satire seems hit or miss. Nonetheless, it delivers a pretty entertaining experience, as long as one comes to it with a strong tolerance for violence and gore.


The Disc Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B+/ Bonus D+

The Hunt appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a positive presentation.

Sharpness was solid. Only a smidgen of softness ever occurred, so the majority of the flick offered strong delineation.

No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and the presentation lacked edge haloes. In terms of source defects, I witnessed no specks, marks or other issues, as the Blu-ray gave us a clean transfer.

In terms of palette, Hunt went with a subdued sense of tones. These leaned toward a mix of tan, teal and green, but nothing that overwhelmed. Within the quiet visual choices, the colors worked fine.

Blacks appeared dark and dense, while shadows showed appropriate clarity. I felt happy with the image.

As for the DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio, it offered a good expansion based on the various settings. With a fair amount of violent action on display, the channels opened well when necessary.

This didn’t mean constant pizzazz, but we got more than enough to engage the audience. The material blended well and formed a fine sense of place and bombast.

Audio quality was always good. Music appeared full and rich, while effects demonstrated nice clarity and accuracy.

Speech was natural and distinctive throughout the film. This was a good track that worked for the narrative.

Three short featurettes appear, and Crafting The Hunt runs five minutes, four seconds. It includes comments from producer Jason Blum, director Craig Zobel, co-writers Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, costume designer David Tabbert, production designer Matthew Munn, and actors Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, and Ike Barinholtz.

“Crafting” looks at story and characters as well as costumes, cast, and sets. It offers a few good insights but seems too short to tell us much.

Death Scene Breakdowns spans two minutes, 36 seconds and involves Lindelof, Zobel, Blum, Barinholtz, stunt coordinators Heidi Moneymaker and Hank Amos, department head makeup Lauren Thomas, and actors Chris Berry and Sylvia Grace Crim.

This one provides some notes about the movie’s violence. Like “Crafting”, it gives us a smattering of worthwhile thoughts but isn’t long enough to turn into anything especially good.

Finally, Athena Vs. Crystal: Hunter or Hunted? fills two minutes, 42 seconds with notes from Gilpin, Cuse, Swank, Zobel, Lindelof, Moneymaker, Amos and Blum.

We get info about the movie’s climactic battle. It becomes another decent but too brief clip.

A second disc presents a DVD copy of Hunt. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.

Controversial and misunderstood, The Hunt bites off more than it can chew in terms of social satire. Still, it brings an exciting enough piece, even with less than effective barbs aimed at various political orientations. The Blu-ray boasts strong picture and audio but it lacks substantial bonus materials. Best taken as an edgy thriller, the film works more than it falters.

Viewer Film Ratings: 3.6666 Stars Number of Votes: 3
05:
24:
1 3:
02:
01:
View Averages for all rated titles.

.
Review Archive:  # | A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z | Viewer Ratings | Main