Hunter Hunter Review: A Refreshingly Different and Brutal Family Horror Film

Release date: December 18, 2020
Running time: 91 minutes
Starring: Camille Sullivan, Summer H. Howell, Devon Sawa 
Written and Directed By: Shawn Linden

Hunter hunter follows a family living in the remote wilderness earning a living as fur trappers. Joseph Mersault (Devon Sawa), his wife Anne (Camille Sullivan), and their daughter Renée (Summer H. Howell) struggle to make ends meet and think their traps are being hunted by the return of a rogue wolf. Determined to catch the predator in the act, Joseph leaves his family behind to track the wolf. Anne and Renée grow increasingly anxious during Joseph’s prolonged absence and struggle to survive without him.  When they hear a strange noise outside their cabin, Anne hopes it is Joseph but instead finds a man named Lou (Nick Stahl), who has been severely injured and left for dead. The longer Lou stays and Joseph is away, the more paranoid Anne becomes, and the idea of a mysterious predator in the woods slowly becomes a threat much closer to home.

Hunter Hunter has an amazing setup and setting.  The family lives in the wilderness without technology.  When they want to cook, they start a fire.  If they want water, they have to bring it up from the river.  For light they use lanterns and lamps.  It is a refreshingly different setting compared to what most of us are used to and it is fascinating to see this lifestyle.  And the film's sense of realism also translates into the hunting aspects.  Animals are trapped, killed, and prepped in very realistic ways.  It does not cut corners with respect to this; the lifestyle is shown in a very detailed manner with the family all participating.  They prepare the animal, cook up the usable meat, and smoke the skin, making sure nothing goes to waste.  And despite the commitment to accurately represent this, the film also highlights how this lifestyle is fading away due to changing times.

One thing Hunter Hunter has going for it is the strong cast.  It is a small group, but they all play their roles perfectly.  Devon Sawa as the father Joseph, Camille Sullivan as the mother Anne, and Summer H. Howell as the daughter Renée all do a great job as this wilderness family and really come together into a cohesive unit.  They all feel natural in these roles and help to put a very human element to this story.  But this movie also feels very much like a coming of age story and watching these characters develop and grow is another exciting part of it.

The story of Hunter Hunter has a nice, slow pace that matches this low tech lifestyle.  It is not boring, as I really enjoyed seeing how this family lived and survived, and it definitely starts to pick up when more conflict is introduced into the film.  But it is just nice to get an intimate look into how this family live and to get to know all the characters.  And that being said, when the story does pick up it can be exciting and tense.  There are some very nerve wracking scenes as hunting occurs that will make you hold your breath.  However, the film does have some poor CG, though thankfully it doesn't happen often.  And there are some motivations that are not well explained.  But overall, this is a refreshingly different horror-type film that has a great commitment to realism and a refreshingly different setting.

Hunter Hunter's interesting, low tech lifestyle, commitment to realism, brutal scenes, and palatable tension will trap your interest right from the start!

Watch it.

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Last Three Days is available digitally and on demand November 13, 2020.

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