Hunter Hunter

I saw so many Tweets about how life-changing and wonderful this film was that I decided to see it against my better judgment. One Tweet alone raved so much about the ending I figured I'd better have my smelling salts close at hand. And I'm glad I had them next to me, because this film was so slow, so self-indulgent, and so ridiculous in some parts I had to get my smelling salts just to see the end. I'm not even sure this could be called a horror film. Then again, I was a little horrified.

This film start with a daughter "Renee" setting up the trap, and her father "Joseph" writing note scene! As turnout, this film is about a hunter family need to dealing with the wolf, and a stranger "Lou" threatening them! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the searching scene, overuse of the blackout scene, overuse of the driving scene, overuse of the eating scene, overuse of the smoking scene, overuse of the staring scene, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the holding rifle scene, overuse of the talking with walkie-talkie scene, overuse of the sleeping scene, overuse of the news broadcasting on the radio scene, overuse of the long angle scenery scene, and overuse of the waking up scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Anne cut off Lou's face skin, and throw on the ground! That's it! Wasting time to watch!

Liked the wilderness atmosphere in the movie. The plot doesn't have many twists, it is mostly predictable, it doesn't have much action, it's more of a slow burner that delivers the conclusion with an exclamation mark at the end. Nothing scary here except the rabid human nature of a serial killer and some gore. All in all it's not the worst movie to watch on a slow night

Greetings again from the darkness. The initial assumption is that this is a story of a lone wolf stalking a family. Early on, it shifts into the story of Joseph Mersault, a throwback trapper teaching his 13 year old daughter how to survive off the land. Yet, what writer-director Shawn Linden ultimately delivers is the story of Joseph's wife, Anne, who combats not only the wolf, but something even worse. Joseph (Devon Sawa) is one grumpy dude. He's no fan of society or people, and the only pleasures he seems to find in life are living in an isolated cabin and teaching his daughter Renee (Summer H Howell) how to do the same. They are joined in this quiet and very hard life by wife and mother, Anne (Camille Sullivan). Anne dutifully carries out her chores, but dreams of a more normal life for herself and her daughter. The family barters animal skins for food and supplies and live mostly off the grid - and we later learn there are complications to even something as simple as their cabin. The forests of Manitoba provide what the family needs, but just barely. Winter is approaching and now a wolf is stealing from their traps, leaving them short of food. This wolf has previously stalked the family, and Joseph aims to hunt him down. The camera work in the forest is terrific - giving us the visual beauty, as well as the constant danger. And in this story, danger and traps take on many forms, including the secrets folks keep from each other. The wolf only makes a couple of appearances, yet the threat is always present. There is a terrific sequence that cuts between Joseph, Anne, and Renee, as each are in different areas of the forest at the same time. Each of the situations is tension-filled and our minds are bouncing around as much as the characters. Other characters enter the story, including a couple of Rangers who are unprepared for what they are about to face, and another character (Nick Stahl) who shifts the entire dynamic of the film. Director Linden gives us a survival thriller, one that probably best compares to LEAVE NO TRACE. This one is also a psychological study of just what a person is capable of when pushed to the limit. Anne's story is about her ability to navigate this world while raising a daughter. The final sequence leads to extreme violence, and acts as her emotional release every bit as much as rage and revenge.

So, there is this one very, very small gore scene at the end of the movie. If you are into gore there is a staggering amount of time spent building up to this one final scene in the movie which is not particularly out of the ordinary as far as gore scenes go. Plus, as mentioned above, it is over rather quickly. If you are expecting to see a film about a family's difficult time living off the land and having to deal with a predator (wolf) then you will be severely annoyed when this movie takes the turn into a serial killer/mini-gore fest at the end. Just what is this movie? Well, it's not really about a serial killer even though there is a serial killer. It's not exactly a nature film even though almost every minute is spent out in the wilderness. It's not a police procedural even though there are a couple of quasi-cops who kind of sort of get mildly interested in investigating an abandoned car on a road going through the woods. It's certainly not a family movie. It's a mishmash mess that starts out one way, transitions into something else and finally ends up in a bloodbath. Bottom line: This movie satisfies no one. Not enough blood and gore for those who are obsessed with the "Saw" franchise and not the sort of ending that anyone else will appreciate. It sucks like a Hoover.

The story line sounded great and I thought I would give it a chance. It had me guessing the entire time of WTH is going on. I have seen a LOT of movies and the ending... just WOW , I never expected that and it was great!!!!!!!!!

This movie was what I thought it would be- slightly entertaining with some flaws. The overall story seemed to be two separate ideas combined into one. There is a twist in the middle of the movie that was interesting, however, by the end it became predictable. The pace of the film was a bit slow, however the ending provided some much needed emotion to the movie. There were definitely some tense moments, but unfortunately they were few and far between. On a positive note, I really liked some of the gritty scenes that show what it takes to survive in wilderness with minimal resources. I was excited to see Nick Stahl and Devon Sawa on the screen again, but I don't think they were given big enough roles in the film. Too much time was spent on minor characters that did not really have much to do with the story. The actress that played the mother did a good job though, and helped carry the movie. This is not the worst way to spend an hour and a half of your time, but don't expect the film to leave a memorable impression. [5/10]