I heard good things about this one. It got some grand reviews when it was making the rounds on the indy circuit. I’d hoped it would play in a theater close to my geographic location. It would’ve made for perfect pandemic-year fare, when independent Horror was, alone of all the genres, flourishing. Alas, it never came near, but that’s okay. I got to see it tonight. Did it live up to its press? Indubitably. HUNTER HUNTER is the best werewolf movie to come along in recent years—and this despite the fact there’s no werewolf in it. It’s all metaphor. Or is it?
There is a serial killer whose name is “Lou”, and his predations are paralleled by those of a rogue wolf troubling a family of squatters in the remote wilderness they call home. Alternately, you could interpret it that the serial killer *is* the wolf, but you never get to see him transform onscreen. And get this: it still works. The movie works either way.
Impeccable acting, great location filming, and, when the time comes for it, superb gore FX, used sparingly but oh so effectively. Writer-slash-director Shawn Linden has a real winner on his hands. It’s probably a little too rarified for some. If you hated THE WITCH, for example, if you hated HEREDITARY and MIDSOMMAR, you should probably skip this one. If you have the capacity to appreciate such lofty, heady fare, though, I can’t recommend HUNTER HUNTER enough. It’s as good as they come.
