Happy Hunting

Okay I wrote a medium sized review and tried to submit it and the internet froze up and it apparently got lost so that is lame. So not writing that again so long story short. I liked it. End was good! Chris was a great character. Haha. 7/10

It seems that as long as B movie will be made, there will always be people churning out rip-offs of the classic Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Actually, I can understand that, because even after so many decades of this old story being rehashed, it is still an irresistible premise. And I have seen over the years some pretty good cinematic tellings of this premise, from "Raw Courage" to "Surviving the Game". As for THIS particular telling, it is neither one of the best tellings or one of the worst tellings. It is a competent telling, nothing more or less. There are some really good things about it here and there. For what wasn't a big budget, the movie looks very nice, from the good cinematography to some well chosen locations, together which make some stunning visuals at times. There is also a very effective seedy atmosphere; you can really feel the dust, grit and poverty of this environment. The movie is also interesting in that the so-called hero isn't completely likable - he is a killer, drug pusher, and an addict. The addict side of this character does bring some interest, in that the character has to somehow satisfy (or fight) his addiction while he is being hunted. There are also some good action sequences, exciting and bloody. However, the stuff between the action moments is where the movie is weak. Between the action sequences, the movie is often slow and ponderous instead of managing to grab you by the throat and throw at you non-stop tension. The opening 30 minutes, setting up the situation, will also likely throw off some viewers because of how uneventful it is. Also, while I didn't really object to the ending (which I will not spoil), I do see that it will anger some viewers. Weighing the good with the bad stuff, you end up with an okay rehash of this old formula. If you like this formula and don't mind seeing it again, you will probably find this movie watchable - certainly better than some other tellings. It's not bad, but it could have been fine tuned somewhat before filming started.

Yet another movie that kinda had a good plot idea (though admittedly its been done much better 100 times before) but then the writers either ran out of ideas, money, and/or ingenuity and the ending just leaves us unsatisfied with some thinly veiled "political leftist anti-American commentary" that quite frankly is more offensive than anything any right-wing nut could ever devise. Anyway, it has its moments, but I'd skip this one.

The cinematography was fine, I liked the actors just fine but the entire plot strained credulity with the concept of an entire town holding an annual hunt of human beings for 'tradition', and with the incredible collection of losers there were all able to have never leaked this to the outside world. But let's accept the premise - the 'hero' is a massive loser, a junkie and a severe alcoholic, who somehow survives the desert without ANY water, with severe alcohol withdrawal, getting stabbed deeply with a hunting knife (with no shock and suprisingly little blood), having his ankle caught in a bear trap yet still shockingly mobile after this, and finally getting stabbed a second time. The inanity of this is what really turned me off on the movie - I can suspend a lot of belief but I can't suspend my sanity to accept what this guy was able to do.

Gun toting rednecks on a kill crazy rampage- the occasional riot or manhunt is surely their right under one amendment or another. No? Unbelievable in this day and age. Silly movie with a sheriff not just apathetic but complicit and orchestrator of the redneck sporting event. Federal law - nah don't recognise it. Just choose your victims and hunt em down. I mean....they got a head start so that seems fair. Ridiculous right? Right? Capitol idea - let's do it. Oh...you did already.