On one hand, I feel like I am way too young to remember this…on the other hand, Hunt Club totally reminded me of what I think exploitation genre flicks looked like – back in the day when you would watch this (or not ) from your 1973 Chevy Malibu at the Drive-In.
But in Hunt Club, directed by a woman, Elizabeth Blake-Thomas, the scantily clad damsels are only in distress long enough to turn the tables on the sadistic “hunters” who see them as nothing more than game. If it seems like a movie to show at a toxic masculinity party, it isn’t. Well, not for too long.
Cassandra (Mena Suvari from American Beauty) just lost her girlfriend and daughter and is desperate to find help. Into the diner walks the rich and depraved Carter ( Casper Van Dien) offering her the chance to win $100,000 dollars by participating in an annual hunt he hosts on his private island.
But the old phrase “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is,” has never held more meaning than in this moment for Cassandra. Soon she finds herself in a barn with other victims and it won’t be long before all depravity breaks loose on the Not Ok Corral.
Van Dien, with his heroic square jaw, is able to transform himself into a sinister figure in spite of it. The Tragically disfigured actor, Mickey Rourke, has been in the Bruce Willis phase of his career for many years now, but there’s no denying that he is perfectly cast.
And Suvari, twice the age she was when we first saw her on film, holds her ground. The truth is they could be and should be all doing better, but Hollywood is cruel, and at least they’ve found work in a decent thriller that was well constructed and worth a watch.
On Digital, On Demand and Streaming Platforms April 4th
