VOD of the Dead - DEATH HUNT (2022)
Christopher Booker, author of The 7 Basic Plots asserts that there all stories are based on one of seven plot archetypes. While you may be inclined to disagree at first, I think what he’s saying holds a lot of weight and would be hard to argue against. This is not to say that everything is unoriginal, rather, most stories follow similar beats and moments that are easily identifiable even if they are delivered in new and interesting ways. Beneath these seven archetypes sit a host of recurring storylines, one of which is the idea of hunting humans. Made famous in the 20s as a short story and then as a pre-code horror film in the 30s, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is one of the most common storylines in horror films from slashers to serial killer flicks and shows up in a myriad of adjacent films like WRONG TURN, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, and NO ESCAPE (RIP RAY LIOTTA). It’s fair to say that the idea of people hunting other people is not a new concept, and it is one that we will likely continue to see for as long as stories are being told. The challenge placed upon any story akin to THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is the need to differentiate and do something different. Enter 2022s DEATH HUNT, a Canadian entry in the people hunting people genre of horror arrives on VOD and DVD on JULY 12, 2022. Does DEATH HUNT offer up a fresh new take on an old idea, or is this more of the same we have seen before?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A land developer and his girlfriend are hunted on a remote island for sport by three deranged locals.
HOW IS IT?
I would love to be able to say that DEATH HUNT is a bold and original take on the well-worn “people hunting people” genre of horror, and yet, I can’t. The short synopsis above is not only extremely accurate in regards to the plot, but it’s also about as exciting as it reads. The simple story is just that, a couple is taken hostage and brought to an island where three local folks decide it would be fun to hunt them. During the 91-minute film, the first half is almost entirely dedicated to getting our characters to the island. An interesting opening scene involving a father and son sets the tone that at least one of our “deranged locals” has a history of doing this that runs in his family, which makes their incompetence all that more frustrating, but let’s table that for now and focus on our main characters.
For starters, I could not tell you their names. This isn’t because I wasn’t paying attention, it’s because it is entirely irrelevant to the film who these two people are. In a movie like this, you either need to have a really memorable protagonist or a really memorable antagonist and in DEATH HUNT’s case, there are neither. The main characters are a developer and his girlfriend/mistress, which is only lightly hinted at, and their backgrounds are seemingly as uninteresting as the two of them. So it makes one wonder why these two were abducted, and more importantly, how did they even stand a chance against a group of folks who seemingly do this regularly? When one of our protagonists dies mid-way, the other picks up the slack and somehow transforms into a stealthy hunter once the other passes. Perhaps I missed it, but at no point is it established that either of these two has any sort of training on how to use firearms and how to survive in such extreme wilderness conditions. Given how much time we spend with these two characters before and after their capture, it kind of mystifies me how there isn’t much development on them beyond their relationship. It also hampers any believability that they have an advantage in this scenario, but then again, their captors are not the best at what they do either it seems.
The deranged locals in this case are characterized as the most cookie-cutter versions of gun nuts one is likely to see. Props like a southern confederate flag and outdoorsy wardrobes are about all the understanding we get of these folks, and it seems their only real interest is hunting people because it’s more fun than hunting animals. Given one of these locals has a history of this per the flashback at the start of the film, that makes the decisions and outcomes for this group that much harder to grasp. You see, if the idea is that this group of guys do this regularly, then it would be expected that they would have to be somewhat good at it to avoid getting caught. I mean, who’s going to just let it slide that they survived an attempt at their life by playing the role of trophy game for a group of killers? The thing is though, this group of hunters seems woefully ill-prepared to actually hunt. The captured couple get the drop on them so many times, that you wonder how they haven’t gotten caught for this before on account of how bad they are at it. Then, there is the idea of an advantage. Presumably, this group of hunters knows the area well enough so that tracking these two wouldn’t be hard, and the couple is not given any sort of weapon to protect and defend themselves with. That means three guys with automatic weapons are somehow incompetent enough to let two people with no weapons or training beat them at their own game without any reasoning or logic. It comes off as lazy storytelling and ultimately drags the film down because of how audacious the situation presented is. The one saving grace for the film is that it is technically well-made. The score, while nothing groundbreaking, is better than most and the cinematography is captivating at times even if it doesn’t cover up the film’s bigger faults.
LAST RITES
DEATH HUNT offers nothing to enhance the well-worn story made famous by THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, and in some ways is lesser than simply because it misses the mark with character development and a cast of “deranged locals” who don’t seem like they could shoot a fish in a barrel.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
Starring
Where can you watch it?
Debuting on Digital, DVD, and On-Demand July 12, 2022!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following MacabreDaily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
