Hunted (2020) Movie Review - Fairly Average Horror With a Great Protagonist

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at Shudder Original Hunted. Directed by Vincent Paronnaud, Hunted is a Belgian-French-Irish horror collaboration. This seems like a bit of a strange group of countries to see teaming up. Naturally, Belgium and France have plenty in common but throwing Ireland into the mix? I would love to know the backstory of how this film came about. Anyways, the result is a bit of a strange movie with a multi-national cast and a mix of fake accents.

Hunted follows the story of a woman who heads out for a quiet drink, only to be taken captive by a pair of sinister men. Naturally the guys think they are home free but they don’t realise that the woman they have captured has absolutely no intention of staying a hostage. A fact made all the more pertinent after a car crash helps her escape. Let’s take a look.

Revenge Horror Kicks

So this is pretty standard fare as far as revenge horror goes. A vulnerable woman in a strange city meets a, seemingly, nice guy. Guy turns out to not be so nice, the woman is kidnapped and has to fight for her life. I am sure you know exactly what to expect when it comes to movies like this. Taking place, for the most part, in a large forest, Eve is pursued over a number of days and has to survive the hostile landscape, as well as escape from the crazed lunatics.

The place in which Hunted, somewhat, separates itself, however. Is in its meshing of contrasting styles. This is a movie of multiple personalities. At times it feels like survival horror, at other times it is far closer to an action film. There are even moments where the comedy takes over. Only to give way to more action and themes of revenge. It’s a bit strange but quite enjoyable.

Sure, it can be repetitive and feels a bit padded in parts. But the fantastic protagonist makes Hunted worth more than the sum of its parts. Hunted is a fairy tale made true. Eve’s red coat is more than just a poor fashion choice for hiding in the woods. It is an allegory as obvious as a punch in the groin. The story of a wolf girl who fights back against an evil man, aided by the forest and the animals around her. It’s nice to see strong female protagonists kicking some ass.

Lacking in Tension and Scares

Now if you thought that a large forest would make chance meet ups somewhat difficult, you would be mistaken. Eve, somehow, manages to repeatedly bump into our maniacal antagonists.. She always finds herself back in danger with little effort on the bad guy’s part. While this is understandable given the theme, it quickly removes any real element of suspense. There is no reason to feel concerned for Eve because you know she is going to walk herself right into the antagonist’s line of sight. Prompting another tussle and another bout of shouting and running.

It, unfortunately, gets old pretty fast and robs the movie of a lot of its tension. The idea of pursuit evaporates because why pursue when you can just sit and wait? It doesn’t help that each of the sequences feels a bit drawn out. This really speaks to the lack of innovation present in Hunted. It’s all rather familiar. The movie finds more balance about two thirds of the way in and some of the comedy comes in which lightens the mood, a bit. Offering Hunted a sense of the bottom heavy. It’s a much better end than beginning.

Why So Many American Accents?

Acting is a bit of a weird issue here. This is a Belgian, French, Irish collaboration, which really begs the question why are so many people faking American accents. I thought Choose or Die was bad but this takes the biscuit. As far as I can gather, we are supposed to be somewhere in Europe. Many of the characters, however, are, seemingly, American. Eve, played by Belgian actress Lucie Debay, is French which is fine. She does a decent job but spends most of her time grunting and screaming maniacally.

Our main bad guy, however, played by Arieh Worthalter is supposed to be from the US. Well, at least I think he is. He alternates between numerous different regional American and European accents throughout the film. Sometimes sounding French, sometimes sounding like he is from Boston, sometimes from the Bronx. It is seriously off putting and really undermines his performance. The fact that his character is written as something of a comic book caricature doesn’t help as he is seriously over the top.

Decent Cinematography

Cinematography is fine, this is a nicely shot movie with a rich palette. I would have preferred a 1.66:1 aspect ratio given the location. The standard 1.85:1 widescreen shot robs the location of verticality. Stretching things out and feeling a little bit plain. Still, things look fine for the most part. Luckily there aren’t too many night time scenes so you won’t have to strain your eyes too much. The opening fairy tale scenes are somewhat interesting and add a nice touch of artistic flair.

Direction is a bit of a mixed bag. Slightly abstract in its nature, the presentation here can be rather off putting. Although quick to get into the action, there is a sense of whiplash as the movie changes pace. Suddenly shifting the timeline around without much indication. Shots are not set up in such a way as to create scares or suspense which can leave you feeling a bit lacking and the forest isn’t always used to its maximum potential.

Pacing is okay though there is a distinct feeling that this is a short movie stretched out. Much of the events are fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Its only the last 20 minutes that actually manage to tell the story the movie wants to tell. I am not sure whether the ride up to that point justifies the investment of time but it is fairly satisfying once it gets going.

Should You Watch Hunted?

If you enjoy survival/revenge horror, you could do a lot worse than Hunted. A strong performance by Lucie Debay as a woman unwilling to quit and an entertaining, if not over the top, bad guy help to keep things somewhat interesting. Though the movie is quick to play to type. There is nothing new here. It’s plain, straight forward, revenge horror. Still, if that is all you are looking for, you may have a really great time. For everyone else, feel free to put Hunted on your “to watch” list.. Just not near the top.