Films that wear their inspirations on their sleeves as badges of honor instantly open themselves up to criticism. Not all are bad mind you; "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Brick," and "Chinatown" are excellent films that used their inspirations as backdrops and were able to remain homages rather than straight rip-offs. "The Hunt," on the other hand, can make no such claim. It blatantly rips off several better films, in some cases shot-for-shot. Although I'm a fan of almost everything "The Hunt" shamelessly copies, I am by no means a fan of "The Hunt."
In an effort to bond with his new stepson and pick up a little scratch while he's at it, avid hunter Jack Hamberg (Joe Michael Burke) decides to produce a hunting video. Unfortunately for Jack, while he's an excellent marksman, he knows as much about filmmaking as he does fatherhood. He befriends cameraman Atticus Monroe (Robert Rusler), who convinces Jack that this video would be a big break for both of them and that he should be the one to shoot it. Atticus's selling point to Jack is the fact that he has a connection that could get the video into Wal-Marts across the country. By the way, get ready to hear Sam Walton's store's name dropped extensively throughout the film; it's always good to see the little guy get some much-needed free publicity.
With both Atticus and Jack being broke losers, the two of them approach Jack's wife's ex-husband, Jon Kraw (Cliff De Young), for financial assistance in the video's production. Hoping that Jack can show his son the masculine-enriching outing he himself is incapable of giving, Jon agrees. Jack and his bespectacled eight-year-old nerd of a stepson Clint (Mitchell Burns) head off into the forest in search of big bucks in more ways than one. The town Jack chooses is full of weird, inbred hicks that creep out all three of them. Upon arrival at their hunting grounds, the trio is approached by another mysterious man who insists with spooky vagueness that the three not venture into those woods. Jack assumes he is a poacher trying to scare them away from fertile hunting grounds and sways Atticus and Clint to venture on.
After several unsuccessful attempts to capture Jack in action, the group happen upon a long chain-link fence running through the middle of the forest. Obviously they find a way past this barrier and happen upon all manner of unusual things within. The only thing they never found was their way out. A week later a distraught Jon mounts a filmed rescue attempt to find his missing son and the two men. Once "The Hunt" begins to heavily rely on this plot device is the immediate area where the film begins to fall apart.
"The Hunt" unravels in three different formats: the footage shot by Jon while in search for answers about what happened to his son; the footage shot during the hunt; and, finally, the actual film itself. Often all three forms are shown out of order, making it hard to tell what happened in the past and what is occurring in the present. If writer/director Fritz Kiersch believed enough in his storyline, he would have been more successful by using only the handheld camera footage. But I'm sure he was afraid "The Hunt" would have been heckled as a rip-off of "The Blair Witch Project." Unfortunately for Fritz, the observation is still relevant, but if he had gone the fake documentary route, "The Hunt" would have been a far better film.
The flick quickly devolves into a throwaway episode of "The X-Files," with cheesy effects and aliens that look like "Pumpkinhead's" foreskin. The use of the "video footage" gives "The Hunt" a bit of an edge, and if used with more frequency it could have changed the entire tone of the movie for the better. Instead, we're forced to swallow a bitter pill filled with combinations of better films like "Predator," "Deliverance," "Fire in the Sky,"" Dog Soldiers," and more. The aforementioned "Blair Witch" has an almost lawsuit-worthy case against "The Hunt" with a scene based on "Witch's" iconic shot of a weepy Heather Donahue pleading into the soulless camera eye. An absolute waste of time, money and references to good films, "The Hunt" misses its mark and hits the bargain bin bull's eye at the much-mentioned local Wall-Mart.
In an effort to bond with his new stepson and pick up a little scratch while he's at it, avid hunter Jack Hamberg (Joe Michael Burke) decides to produce a hunting video. Unfortunately for Jack, while he's an excellent marksman, he knows as much about filmmaking as he does fatherhood. He befriends cameraman Atticus Monroe (Robert Rusler), who convinces Jack that this video would be a big break for both of them and that he should be the one to shoot it. Atticus's selling point to Jack is the fact that he has a connection that could get the video into Wal-Marts across the country. By the way, get ready to hear Sam Walton's store's name dropped extensively throughout the film; it's always good to see the little guy get some much-needed free publicity.
With both Atticus and Jack being broke losers, the two of them approach Jack's wife's ex-husband, Jon Kraw (Cliff De Young), for financial assistance in the video's production. Hoping that Jack can show his son the masculine-enriching outing he himself is incapable of giving, Jon agrees. Jack and his bespectacled eight-year-old nerd of a stepson Clint (Mitchell Burns) head off into the forest in search of big bucks in more ways than one. The town Jack chooses is full of weird, inbred hicks that creep out all three of them. Upon arrival at their hunting grounds, the trio is approached by another mysterious man who insists with spooky vagueness that the three not venture into those woods. Jack assumes he is a poacher trying to scare them away from fertile hunting grounds and sways Atticus and Clint to venture on.
After several unsuccessful attempts to capture Jack in action, the group happen upon a long chain-link fence running through the middle of the forest. Obviously they find a way past this barrier and happen upon all manner of unusual things within. The only thing they never found was their way out. A week later a distraught Jon mounts a filmed rescue attempt to find his missing son and the two men. Once "The Hunt" begins to heavily rely on this plot device is the immediate area where the film begins to fall apart.
"The Hunt" unravels in three different formats: the footage shot by Jon while in search for answers about what happened to his son; the footage shot during the hunt; and, finally, the actual film itself. Often all three forms are shown out of order, making it hard to tell what happened in the past and what is occurring in the present. If writer/director Fritz Kiersch believed enough in his storyline, he would have been more successful by using only the handheld camera footage. But I'm sure he was afraid "The Hunt" would have been heckled as a rip-off of "The Blair Witch Project." Unfortunately for Fritz, the observation is still relevant, but if he had gone the fake documentary route, "The Hunt" would have been a far better film.
The flick quickly devolves into a throwaway episode of "The X-Files," with cheesy effects and aliens that look like "Pumpkinhead's" foreskin. The use of the "video footage" gives "The Hunt" a bit of an edge, and if used with more frequency it could have changed the entire tone of the movie for the better. Instead, we're forced to swallow a bitter pill filled with combinations of better films like "Predator," "Deliverance," "Fire in the Sky,"" Dog Soldiers," and more. The aforementioned "Blair Witch" has an almost lawsuit-worthy case against "The Hunt" with a scene based on "Witch's" iconic shot of a weepy Heather Donahue pleading into the soulless camera eye. An absolute waste of time, money and references to good films, "The Hunt" misses its mark and hits the bargain bin bull's eye at the much-mentioned local Wall-Mart.
Films that wear their inspirations on their sleeves as badges of honor instantly open themselves up to criticism. Not all are bad mind you; "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Brick," and "Chinatown" are excellent films that used their inspirations as backdrops and were able to remain homages rather than straight rip-offs. "The Hunt," on the other hand, can make no such claim. It blatantly rips off several better films, in some cases shot-for-shot. Although I'm a fan of almost everything "The Hunt" shamelessly copies, I am by no means a fan of "The Hunt."
In an effort to bond with his new stepson and pick up a little scratch while he's at it, avid hunter Jack Hamberg (Joe Michael Burke) decides to produce a hunting video. Unfortunately for Jack, while he's an excellent marksman, he knows as much about filmmaking as he does fatherhood. He befriends cameraman Atticus Monroe (Robert Rusler), who convinces Jack that this video would be a big break for both of them and that he should be the one to shoot it. Atticus's selling point to Jack is the fact that he has a connection that could get the video into Wal-Marts across the country. By the way, get ready to hear Sam Walton's store's name dropped extensively throughout the film; it's always good to see the little guy get some much-needed free publicity.
With both Atticus and Jack being broke losers, the two of them approach Jack's wife's ex-husband, Jon Kraw (Cliff De Young), for financial assistance in the video's production. Hoping that Jack can show his son the masculine-enriching outing he himself is incapable of giving, Jon agrees. Jack and his bespectacled eight-year-old nerd of a stepson Clint (Mitchell Burns) head off into the forest in search of big bucks in more ways than one. The town Jack chooses is full of weird, inbred hicks that creep out all three of them. Upon arrival at their hunting grounds, the trio is approached by another mysterious man who insists with spooky vagueness that the three not venture into those woods. Jack assumes he is a poacher trying to scare them away from fertile hunting grounds and sways Atticus and Clint to venture on.
After several unsuccessful attempts to capture Jack in action, the group happen upon a long chain-link fence running through the middle of the forest. Obviously they find a way past this barrier and happen upon all manner of unusual things within. The only thing they never found was their way out. A week later a distraught Jon mounts a filmed rescue attempt to find his missing son and the two men. Once "The Hunt" begins to heavily rely on this plot device is the immediate area where the film begins to fall apart.
"The Hunt" unravels in three different formats: the footage shot by Jon while in search for answers about what happened to his son; the footage shot during the hunt; and, finally, the actual film itself. Often all three forms are shown out of order, making it hard to tell what happened in the past and what is occurring in the present. If writer/director Fritz Kiersch believed enough in his storyline, he would have been more successful by using only the handheld camera footage. But I'm sure he was afraid "The Hunt" would have been heckled as a rip-off of "The Blair Witch Project." Unfortunately for Fritz, the observation is still relevant, but if he had gone the fake documentary route, "The Hunt" would have been a far better film.
The flick quickly devolves into a throwaway episode of "The X-Files," with cheesy effects and aliens that look like "Pumpkinhead's" foreskin. The use of the "video footage" gives "The Hunt" a bit of an edge, and if used with more frequency it could have changed the entire tone of the movie for the better. Instead, we're forced to swallow a bitter pill filled with combinations of better films like "Predator," "Deliverance," "Fire in the Sky,"" Dog Soldiers," and more. The aforementioned "Blair Witch" has an almost lawsuit-worthy case against "The Hunt" with a scene based on "Witch's" iconic shot of a weepy Heather Donahue pleading into the soulless camera eye. An absolute waste of time, money and references to good films, "The Hunt" misses its mark and hits the bargain bin bull's eye at the much-mentioned local Wall-Mart.
In an effort to bond with his new stepson and pick up a little scratch while he's at it, avid hunter Jack Hamberg (Joe Michael Burke) decides to produce a hunting video. Unfortunately for Jack, while he's an excellent marksman, he knows as much about filmmaking as he does fatherhood. He befriends cameraman Atticus Monroe (Robert Rusler), who convinces Jack that this video would be a big break for both of them and that he should be the one to shoot it. Atticus's selling point to Jack is the fact that he has a connection that could get the video into Wal-Marts across the country. By the way, get ready to hear Sam Walton's store's name dropped extensively throughout the film; it's always good to see the little guy get some much-needed free publicity.
With both Atticus and Jack being broke losers, the two of them approach Jack's wife's ex-husband, Jon Kraw (Cliff De Young), for financial assistance in the video's production. Hoping that Jack can show his son the masculine-enriching outing he himself is incapable of giving, Jon agrees. Jack and his bespectacled eight-year-old nerd of a stepson Clint (Mitchell Burns) head off into the forest in search of big bucks in more ways than one. The town Jack chooses is full of weird, inbred hicks that creep out all three of them. Upon arrival at their hunting grounds, the trio is approached by another mysterious man who insists with spooky vagueness that the three not venture into those woods. Jack assumes he is a poacher trying to scare them away from fertile hunting grounds and sways Atticus and Clint to venture on.
After several unsuccessful attempts to capture Jack in action, the group happen upon a long chain-link fence running through the middle of the forest. Obviously they find a way past this barrier and happen upon all manner of unusual things within. The only thing they never found was their way out. A week later a distraught Jon mounts a filmed rescue attempt to find his missing son and the two men. Once "The Hunt" begins to heavily rely on this plot device is the immediate area where the film begins to fall apart.
"The Hunt" unravels in three different formats: the footage shot by Jon while in search for answers about what happened to his son; the footage shot during the hunt; and, finally, the actual film itself. Often all three forms are shown out of order, making it hard to tell what happened in the past and what is occurring in the present. If writer/director Fritz Kiersch believed enough in his storyline, he would have been more successful by using only the handheld camera footage. But I'm sure he was afraid "The Hunt" would have been heckled as a rip-off of "The Blair Witch Project." Unfortunately for Fritz, the observation is still relevant, but if he had gone the fake documentary route, "The Hunt" would have been a far better film.
The flick quickly devolves into a throwaway episode of "The X-Files," with cheesy effects and aliens that look like "Pumpkinhead's" foreskin. The use of the "video footage" gives "The Hunt" a bit of an edge, and if used with more frequency it could have changed the entire tone of the movie for the better. Instead, we're forced to swallow a bitter pill filled with combinations of better films like "Predator," "Deliverance," "Fire in the Sky,"" Dog Soldiers," and more. The aforementioned "Blair Witch" has an almost lawsuit-worthy case against "The Hunt" with a scene based on "Witch's" iconic shot of a weepy Heather Donahue pleading into the soulless camera eye. An absolute waste of time, money and references to good films, "The Hunt" misses its mark and hits the bargain bin bull's eye at the much-mentioned local Wall-Mart.
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