The Hunted (2014)

Running Time: 89 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 10, 2013 (Screamfest) and Sept. 9, 2014 (VOD & DVD)

Review by: Stacey

Looks like we're back on the found footage trail this week with Josh Stewart's (The Collector, The Collection) directorial debut film, The Hunted.  I ain't even gonna lie, I love me some Josh Stewart, so naturally I was pretty excited to hear he had written/directed and would be starring in a new horror film.  I'm not even going to go over the "found footage" debate because I already discussed that in my last post for The Houses October Built.  I will say that while The Hunted suffers a few pitfalls of the genre and some of the mistakes that usually come with first-time directors, this film had more good than bad.

Heading deep into the forest, Jake (Stewart) and his friend, Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins), want to find the elusive buck "Movie Star" while filming it all in the hopes of landing their own hunting reality show.  One night while out tracking, they start to hear strange noises but continue to convince themselves it's just a wild animal.  Only when the noises start getting a little too close for comfort, do the men realize it's something far worse than they could have ever expected.

  

Most, if not all, films in the "found footage" category claim to be based on some nugget of truth, and most are full of shit.  The case with Josh Stewart's The Hunted seems to suggest otherwise as he's stated himself that his film is based on a personal experience of his own.  I think that's what sets his film apart from the masses of found footage films whose claims hold no water.  

The acting on Stewart and Blevins parts felt surprisingly real and genuine.  In the short 89 min run of the film, the characters come off as likeable and you felt a kind of bond with them.  Alongside the exceptional acting was the surprisingly good quality of the camera work.  It felt like a real reality show in a lot of aspects.  The use of several different kinds of cameras helped achieve that.  The sound design and music from John Luker and Walter Werzowa is definitely effective in giving you the creeps in a film where sound takes precedence over actually showing you what's scaring you.

  The Hunted was successful in building up a tense story using a totally minimal approach but seemed to lose its way by the final scene.  The ending was one that just didn't fit well with that tense buildup. If it didn't feel so rushed and maybe had more explanation to it, it would have been even better.  

That being said, it's probably one of the better found footage films I've seen a long while.  I would like to see Josh Stewart's efforts recognized from this film because you can see that he put a lot into it and wanted to make a genuinely good horror film.  Hopefully he'll continue to expand on his ideas in the genre and make more films for us.  Until then, The Hunted will be a found footage movie you actually want to see.

3/5 disembodied screams

 

Still iffy?  Check out the trailer below!