The Hunt is a 2020 American thriller film directed by Craig Zobel and written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It stars Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, Amy Madigan, and Hilary Swank. The film follows a group of liberal elites who kidnap and hunt down “deplorables” from red states for sport. The Hunt explores themes of violence, polarization, and outrage culture in today’s divided society.
The film begins by introducing the main characters – crystal, a tough woman from Mississippi, and a dozen other working class Americans who wake up gagged in a clearing. They are hunted for sport by a group of wealthy liberal elites, led by Athena (Hilary Swank). The hunters refer to their targets as “deplorables”, a clear reference to Hillary Clinton’s controversial 2016 election comment. As the elites pick off their prey one by one, Crystal turns the tables and starts hunting the hunters.
The film’s violence is graphic and visceral, but it serves to underscore the senselessness of divisions in society. By flipping the script and having the heroic “deplorables” fight back against the liberal elites, the film challenges stereotypes on both sides of the political divide. It shows that reducing people to derogatory labels leads to cruel dehumanization. The hunters’ moral hypocrisy is also highlighted when they justify the sport as “social justice.”
At the center of the film is Betty Gilpin’s stellar performance as Crystal. With cunning grit and physicality, Gilpin commands the screen. Even as she brutally kills her targets, she gainsviewer empathy and admiration with her resourcefulness and survival instincts. Her character provides a nuanced perspective to counter the reductive caricatures portrayed on both sides.
The provocative premise of hunting humans for sport understandably courted controversy when the film was first scheduled for release in September 2019. It was postponed after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio that August. The film finally premiered in March 2020, landing right as the Covid-19 pandemic led to a tinderbox of social tensions.
While some criticized the film as mean-spirited or socially irresponsible, The Hunt ultimately offers thoughtful commentary on America’s partisan divisions. It highlights the dangers of demonizing our perceived enemies across party lines. The film’s violence serves to critique such dehumanizing tendencies. The Hunt shows how easily outrage and fear can justify cruelty if we paint fellow citizens as enemies. It skillfully satirizes outrage culture from multiple angles.
With daring social commentary andBetty Gilpin’s compelling performance, The Hunt provides an impactful thriller. It weaves together gripping action sequences with incisive points on moral hypocrisy and tribalism. The film raises thought-provoking questions about violence, vengeance, and the extremes of “us vs. them” thinking. While unsettling at times, The Hunt ultimately offers a nuanced portrait of how demonization breeds cruelty on all sides. It highlights the need for empathy if we are ever to bridge societal divides.