Hunt Club – Movie Review
If you’re looking for a bloody revenge thriller with a message, Hunt Club from Director Elizabeth Blake-Thomas delivers on the “Me Too” murder mayhem with a grindhouse throwback edge.
Upon hearing the title “Hunt Club” I was under the impression that this film would be equivalent to a lower budget version of 2020’s The Hunt in the style of The Asylum’s catalog of productions. Though the films do share a similar concept of upper-class psychos hunting other humans for sport, Hunt Club definitely forges its own path with a different agenda in mind.
There have been many humans hunting humans pictures over the years going back to The Most Dangerous Game in 1932, to John Leguizamo’s 90’s romp, The Pest and up through The Hunger Games franchise. Hunt Club finds itself more in line with the the 1994 Ice-T film Surviving The Game than any of the previously mentioned films, with its heightened sense of reality mixed with social commentary.
Opening with a well-shot fight scene, wherein a tiny, but deadly vigilante played by Maya Stojen rescues Mena Suvari from an attempted rape outside a bar, the film immediately presents the audience with a female empowerment tale that has some violent surprises in store and many familiar faces.
I have to admit to being a bit tickled by the cast of Hunt Club. Though I’m glad to see many of these actors finding work, I haven’t heard from most of them since the 90’s. Seeing a middle-aged Mena Suvari resembling Michelle Pfeiffer more than her American Pie counterpart was quite a shock, as was a grizzled Jeremy London, who was last on my radar as a baby face slacker in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats. Of course Mickey Rourke had his renaissance 15 years ago and Casper Van Dien seems to be right in the same tier of roles he has always played. I’ll be honest, I never would have expected this batch of names to show up on the same screen.
Our main characters come together in a diner as a grey fox Casper Van Dien teaches his son (Will Peltz) how to groom a seemingly vulnerable Mena Suvari into joining the duo on a mysterious hunting trip, after a spat with her lover. Obviously their intentions are sinister, though Peltz plays it much more innocent than his devious, ten-gallon hat wearing father. Upon arriving at the hunting island it’s revealed that this hunt uses women as the prey and the deadly games begin.
Though the captured women are let loose in a forest wearing nothing more than their underwear, the catalyst for this hunt is far beyond the concept of big game hunting with a sexist bent. What makes this story unique is that these men have chosen this activity as a means of reclaiming their masculinity, which they believe has been stolen from them by society’s insistence on equality for the sexes. These emasculated alpha males see this brutality as the only way to even the score or in the case of Van Dien’s Carter character, to eliminate the sexual confusion his son, Jackson has had imbued in him by the state of the world.
Van Dien actually delivers a great, villainous performance as the overly macho father, looking to help his son “man-up” by participating in this twisted family tradition. Though I have to admit to laughing out loud when during his monologue about the “castrating” of his kind by new societal gender norms, Van Dien declares that the hunt is what will set his son straight. Apparently the writers have seen the “Homer’s Phobia” episode of The Simpsons wherein Homer takes Bart hunting to purge him of perceived gay tendencies, though the dialogue in this film does to not appear to be aiming for laughs.
The most effective scenes in Hunt Club are between Suvari and Peltz, as her Cassandra character tries to convince Jackson that the measure of a man is having one’s own moral code, not living up to the ideals set forth by an insecure father preaching sexist ideals. Peltz delivers a sympathetic performance throughout, delivering the most natural character portrayal on screen. The message about discovering your own morality may be ham-fistedly delivered, but in these quieter moments, it feels like there may be a sincere life lesson to be gleaned from this somewhat sadistic movie.
I felt shades of 80’s revenge flick Vendetta when it’s revealed that Cassandra purposely found her way into the hunt in order to get information on the fate of her daughter, who was fooled into becoming prey 6 month prior. I do want to draw attention to the performance of Sumayyah Ameerah as Lacey, one of the captive women who is sent out to be hunted along with Suvari. Her feisty performance adds an exciting energy to the film, even if only for a few scenes.
The tone of the film shifts significantly once Tessa (Maya Stojan) arrives on the island to help Cassandra enact her revenge on the members of this Hunt Club. Suddenly the females of the movie become quippy action heroes, throwing out sassy taunts as they deliver gorey punishment to the would-be hunters. Stojan has killer swagger and stone faced attitude, but her dialogue doesn’t hold up to even Schwarzenegger level cheesiness. That being said, whenever she appears on screen, you know something dangerous is about to happen.
Jason and Jeremy London certainly play the most despicable characters in the film. Portraying a pair of demented brothers that have lured a young, opportunistic college student played by Jessica Belkin onto the island as a sex slave. The pair certainly deserve the ghastly final fate which awaits them in the film’s climax. You won’t soon forget the visceral visuals as the torture tables are turned on these fiends.
Mickey Rourke’s role as Virgil, ultimately amounts to a one-dimensional performance. Rourke plays a masochistic game warden whose cold treatment of the imprisoned women as animals earns him a quick death, which doesn’t leave much of an impact. Rourke seemed to know he was being paid solely to add his marquee name to the movie poster and fulfills his commitment to appear on screen without much enthusiasm.
The idea of women in cages may see ripe for sexist objectification, but under the direction of Blake-Thomas, the captive women are definitely not reduced to becoming fetish objects for the male gaze. Each is given a backstory which ignites an inner rage that has kept them alive up to the point at which they are empowered to claim vengeance and freedom.
Hunt Club definitely has a point to make and does so with an in your face attitude that won’t be misunderstood. However, it’s unclear by the end if the story was meant to be viewed as a violent revenge romp or a thought provoking tale of women reclaiming their humanity. Perhaps it is somewhere in between, but either way, Hunt Club is worthy of a watch and lots of post-film discussion.
I was so impressed by his villain turn that I interviewed star, Casper Van Dien for Popgeeks and you can enjoy his insight into Hunt Club here.
Hunt Club is available on digital, on demand and DVD April 4th from Uncork’d Entertainment.
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