![]() ![]() When the focus isn't on the wolf and his sick film hobby, Hunted is a beautiful film to watch. It's a testament to Worthalter and O'Brien's performances that I detested them so much, not everyone can play such a convincing antagonist. Ariel Worthalter ( Girl) is the absolutely psychopathic, unhinged wolf and Ciaran O'Brien ( Misfits) is his feckless accomplice. It is also the story of wolves and what one woman will do to survive and get her revenge.īelgian actress Lucie Debay ( The Confession) shines as Eve, our intrepid survivor. Hunted is a gory retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story with onscreen violence and off-screen sexual assault. Her knight-in-shining-armour turns wicked wolf and suddenly Eve finds herself lost in a forest in a life-or-death battle for survival. Hunted begins in a bar in Belgium where French contractor Eve is trying to have a good time, despite the uninvited attention of certain men in the bar. My first for 2021 is also my first from French director Vincent Paronnaud, Shudder original Hunted. It does not store any personal data.This year came with no promises, so I'm preparing to bunker down with an endless supply of horror films. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. ![]() Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Originally published as part of Nightstream 2020 - Dispatch 2. You can stream Vincent Paronnaud’s Hunted on Shudder beginning on January 14. The victim at the heart of its story deserves to be treated as more than a lazy prop. Perhaps more would be forgiven if Paronnaud had delivered on the terror front, but aside from a few moments of body horror, there isn’t much here to sustain the average genre fan. There’s really only one expectation that Paronnaud successfully upends: he constructs his film in the familiar horror shape of a rape-revenge tale even as rape doesn’t feature, which is both a welcome bit of restraint and a nifty genre modification, but it simply isn’t enough - and no, a paintball game that suddenly turns Eve into a warpaint-clad William Wallace will not suffice. The film also keeps hinting that the woods will ultimately fight back in the young woman’s defense, Long Weekend-style, but aside from a couple of camping survivalists and an angry bird, nothing ever comes of it. HUNTED 2020 SERIESEven as a tale of female empowerment, Hunted fails miserably, as Paronnaud is far more interested in spending time with his big baddie than the woman at its center, who is instead reduced to a series of grunts and wails. This ultimately leads to a showdown in a suburban model home that could be a commentary on deforestation and urban sprawl, but honestly, who knows.Īs the co-director of both Persepolis and Chicken with Plums, it seems fair to at least expect Paronnaud to deliver visually, but aside from that aforementioned opening and a moment involving a car, a kiss, and a wild boar - it’s as bonkers as it sounds - memorable imagery is sparse. What follows is a monotonous foot chase in which Eve endures repeated close calls with her big bad wolf, but always escapes just in the nick of time. A businesswoman in a bright red coat, Eve (Lucie Debay), ends up drunkenly going home with the wrong man (Arieh Worthalter), and is forced to fight for her life in the woods after escaping his clutches. The message is bluntly stated: “The company of wolves is better than that of man.” Paronnaud then spends the remaining 86 minutes proving that point, but unfortunately forgets to add anything in the way of depth or insight, leaving the viewer to wonder what is to be gained from enduring his rather heinous take on Little Red Riding Hood. Vincent Paronnaud’s new horror-thriller Hunted opens with a campfire tale brought to life using a gorgeous animation style that combines black, blocky cut-outs and a background of ethereal gold. ![]() Hunted isn’t a bad film, but the genre aficionados who are likely to seek it out won’t find much genre styling to sustain them. ![]()
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