“One of the most talked about movies that no one has seen yet”, read the advertising tagline of THE HUNT when released earlier this year. Originally scheduled for a fall 2019 release, the movie hit up some controversy due to its subject of explicit violence against political parties
What was originally thought of as a political divide turned out to be more of a satire of politics and really not as bad as one might think. The movie opens with a text conversation with some individuals talking about a particular “Hunt” then proceeds to show a group of people kidnapped and then hunted for sport. The movie gets a lot of mileage from one particular character, Crystal (Betty Gilpin) who is a bit more adapt to survival skills against her kidnappers, and as the movie progresses we learn more about who is hunting them and why.
Overall, I really liked THE HUNT thanks to the great performance by Betty Gilpin and a lean, tight 90 minute run time that keeps your interest then lets you go quickly. Some really interesting twists and bends in the screenplay by Nick Cuse & Damon Lindelof also help propel the material. It’s a B-movie with quite a bit of edge to it, especially on how it depicts its subjects.
About the Blu Ray:
The disc package features both a Blu Ray and DVD. The Blu Ray is presented in its original 2.40 scope aspect ratio. The movie is shot digitally and exhibits a strong color palette, good sharpness. The sound mix is Dolby Digital and some strong surrounds are present, though none of this presentation is demo-material for your home theater, nor should it be. But it nicely represents the theatrical experience.
The only inclusion on the Blu Ray is a couple of small featurettes with some behind the scenes footage and filmmaker interviews. These don’t add very much to the overall experience of the movie and can be skipped. A filmmaker commentary by Craig Zobel and some of the leads in the film would have been a welcome addition.
Overall:
THE HUNT is a pretty basic Blu Ray + DVD package with minimal features. For most people (myself included) this is not a dealbreaker to be overstuffed with features as I really feel the movie speaks for itself. While the movie has been available for a while on VOD, those looking for a hard physical copy of this recent political satire/survivalist tale, this will be very pleasing.
THE HUNT is now available in North America on Blu Ray + DVD combo pack, and is also currently available on streaming platforms such as Apple TV, Google Play movies and more. Thanks to Thinkjam PR/Universal for providing us with a copy for review.