Each represent opposite sides of the political
divide. Both are smart, dangerous and resourceful.
The film starts with a dozen people waking up in
what appears to be a central Arkansas clearing,
deposited there by ruthless, urban sophisticates.
They’ve been drugged and gagged and soon
they are armed, presumably to make the hunt
more exciting.
The victims bear all the markings of boilerplate
blue-collar red-staters — mom jeans, work
boots and vet caps, everyone grizzled and
unfashionable. “We need to lean into the
stereotype,” one character says during the movie
and the filmmakers have done that in spades.
Most members of the hunted group never learn
each other’s names and you shouldn’t get too
attached either. To put it another way, actors
Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Ike Barinholtz and
Sturgill Simpson were probably paid by the hour.
Mayhem ensues as the group is picked off one
by one, until Gilpin’s character emerges as the
film’s gutsy heroine and takes the film by the
scruff of its neck. “The Hunt” later ham-handedly
tries to explain why the dozen victims were
selected and then switches to the viewpoint of
the six hunters, who — thanks to a calm and
efficient Gilpin — are becoming the hunted.
The concept of hunting humans for sport
has a long history, stretching back to
Richard Connell’s 1924 short story “The Most
Dangerous Game.” It’s reliable grist for movies
exploring the divide between rich and poor,
most recently in “The Hunger Games” franchise
and last year’s “Ready or Not.” This time, the
divide is exacerbated by the left-right divide
the movie itself has added.