I finally got to see the "most controversial" film that no one got to see in 2019. There is honestly nothing controversial or deep about The Hunt. That being said, I had a pretty good time with it. It's an extremely easy ninety-minute watch.
Starting with my positives, Betty Gilpin kills it as the eventual protagonist. She was a blast to follow in the second and third acts. She brought a great leading-woman presence to the film, being equally badass as she is funny. I'd be surprised if she doesn't appear in more action-centered films. Gilpin's southern accent was on point as well.
I found The Hunt to be pretty funny both politics-wise and dark humor-wise. Fairly brutal kills are played off as jokes extremely well. Dark humor is my kind of humor so I loved it. Though the political humor doesn't land 100% of the time, a lot of it works for me. The jokes were divided extremely equally between both parties. Though I had some problems with the humor that I will get into with my negatives, I enjoyed it for the most part.
As for my negatives, my biggest one has to be the film's lack of focus at times. The first act, while admittedly pretty funny, it also jumps around way too much. We don't meet our protagonist, Gilpin, until thirty minutes in. The main premise of the hunt itself could have been fleshed out much more. We don't get a cohesive answer to the invention of the hunt until the last twenty minutes. The answer is extremely underwhelming and honestly boring. I would have much rather have not known why it exists.
My other major negative is the satire itself. It's pretty ineffective even though it's quite funny at times. Since The Hunt walks the line between parties so well, we never really grasp the problems/solutions that the film is criticizing. I think screenwriters, Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof thought the film was way smarter than it actually is.
Like I said in the opening paragraph, I don't understand the controversy with this film. Yes, it is a film about Liberals hunting Conservatives. However, The Hunt never takes itself seriously. It's clearly a horror-comedy that's main purpose is to entertain. It would be one thing if the film took itself 100% seriously. While there are some good uses of gore, nothing is too brutal. This film is honestly pretty safe in terms of content.
You have to know your type of humor and personality when it comes to deciding on whether or not to watch The Hunt. If you're someone like myself who doesn't mind dark humor and their party being made the but of a joke, then The Hunt will be an easy watch. If you're someone who is easily offended in terms of political humor, then I'd advise you to skip this one.
In conclusion, The Hunt is an entertaining yet flawed horror-comedy. Betty Gilpin's great performance carries a large part of the film. The Hunt is a good way to pass ninety minutes during quarantine if you keep in mind to not take the film seriously.
6.5/10
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