There’s a fascinating mix of creatives involved with the new mysterious social thriller, “The Hunt.” The project comes from Jason Blum, the producer of “Get Out” and “The Purge” series, and Damon Lindelof, co-creator of the TV series “The Leftovers” and “Lost,” and director Craig Zobel known for “Compliance” and the 2015 Sundance hit “Z for Zachariah.” Zobel hasn’t directed a film since until now, but he’s also been busy in the world of television directing an episode of “Westworld” and the CBS All Access mystery thriller “One Dollar.”
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He’s back in the world of features for “The Hunt,” a movie that sounds a lot like 1932’s “The Most Dangerous Game” crossed with “Saw” (and no, it’s not a remake of 2012’s “The Hunt” with Mads Mikkelsen).
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Starring Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley (“This Is Us”), Hilary Swank, Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Ike Barinholtz, Betty Gilpin (“Glow”), and character actress Amy Madigan, “The Hunt” basically sounds like it’s about lunatics hunting humans for sport, even though there’s a whole mystery box element to the film that tries to keep its secrets under wraps. Here’s the official synopsis:
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Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chosen… for a very specific purpose … The Hunt.
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In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of globalist elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt humans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of the hunted, Crystal (Betty Gilpin, GLOW), knows The Hunters’ game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off, one by one, as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman (two-time Oscar® winner Hilary Swank) at the center of it all.
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“The Hunt” is written by Lindelof and his fellow “The Leftovers”’ collaborator Nick Cuse, Zobel directed episodes of “The Leftovers” at one point, so their collaboration must have sprung from there. Considering the ideas of conspiracy theories and global elites in the movie, there’s definitely going to be socio-political texture and tensions going to be threaded through what will likely be an intense action and psychological thriller.
“The Hunt” opens in theaters September 27 and considering the cast, and players involved, I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes a midnight section premiere at TIFF and stops at Fantastic Fest beforehand. Watch the new teaser below.
