Like many, I admittedly did not have high expectations for Blumhouse’s The Hunt. Marred in controversy before its release, the film was unfairly politicized because of its inclusion of partisan political language. (It was leaked that the word “deplorables” was being used in the film to describe the hunted.) But it turns out, the political leanings the film supposedly had where not there, as the film deals out disgust and satire to both the left and the right in equal measure. Today, the film already feels like a bit of a relic to the not-so-distant Trump-era, a time when we were all a little too politically charged.

Truthfully, on paper, I can understand why some might had thought the premise of Craig Zobel’s The Hunt to be controversial. A group of rich, left-wing “elites” have kidnapped twelve right-wing internet trolls to hunt them.  After Trump heard about the film’s premise and subsequent controversy, he tweeted: “Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate. The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others.” However, anybody who watches horror movies knows that the hunted are in the position to be empathized with, which, in turn, angered many on the left. And so a film that could only piss off people too extreme in their political beliefs managed to piss off a lot of people who are way too extreme in their political beliefs. Mind you, most of this controversy took place well before the often-delayed film even got its release…which sadly happened the week before the first Covid lockdowns. Poor film.

In actuality The Hunt, which is a horror-comedy, is a lot of fun. It reminds me a lot of Ready or Not. It is well-paced, has a great assembly cast, and never forgets to be entertaining. There are even a few clever point-of-view tricks, innovative death sequences and plot twists that help to make the film much better than it has the right to be.

In hindsight, the politics the film satirizes are quite safe. The left gets a lot of jokes dedicated to being too P.C., almost to the point where communication becomes impossible without a reprimand. Most of the fun poked on the right tend to be related to their promotion of conspiracy theories. By the film’s conclusion it really is hard to say which side gets more abuse, as the people on both sides tend to suck equally. (I mean, I guess the people on the left suck a bit more because they are the kidnappers. I mean…I guess.) But caught in the absurdity are hints of humanity and caring, as long as the person in question is talking to someone on their side. Point made.

But Betty Gilpin deserves a special shout out for her performance as the lead, nicknamed “Snowball”. In a film where everyone wears their politics on their sleeve, she gets to remain an enigma. And her brutal retelling of the famous “Tortoise and the Hare” fable, with an extended ending, is probably my favourite scene in the entire film.

When The Hunt was being made, I’m sure the main intent was to make a really fun movie. That the movie infamously became more is not the fault of its creators, but of the hyper-partisan politics of the times. However, those of us who have actually seen the film, understand why The Hunt was made in the first place. The fun shines through from beginning to end. That it angers people is just a bonus.