Hunted (2020)

Hunted is a film not shy about signposting where it’s planning on going. That being said, it’s an impressively nasty film, showing a deft touch in terms of its structure and successfully keeping two different elements in check: on one hand it’s a deeply unpleasant game of cat and mouse through the woods, and on the other, it’s a folkloric tale about the otherworldly qualities of the forest. These eventually come together in a series of very watchable, grisly, excessive ways, all ready for a pretty jaw-dropping final act.

We start with an unusual, part-animated introduction; a little boy is introduced to the ‘song of the forest’ at the fireside, and his mother tells him a redemptive tale about a young girl whose prayers stir the forest to protect her against those who would harm her. Cue our next introduction: Eve (Lucie Debay) is a property developer, overseeing a project somewhere in a curiously cosmopolitan corner of Europe, which seems largely populated by Irish and Americans. Her project has missed a deadline, much to the ire of her boss, and she has a persistent boyfriend to contend with (ever notice mobile phones buzz just like flies?) At the end of a long day, she decides to head to a local bar, where she has the requisite one minute’s grace before an unwanted male turns up and talks at her. She’s saved by a seemingly-decent guy and his brother – oh, you know where this one is going, you’ve seen films like this before – but she’s grateful for his help, and she finally feels able to let her hair down, having a good night.

Things of course take a nasty turn. Before she knows it, she’s in a speeding car heading along the back roads to godknowswhere, the misogyny of The Guy (Arieh Worthalter) and ‘Andy’ (Ciaran O’Brien) now out in the open in rather overt form. One bizarre accident later, she take the opportunity to escape from the vehicle, but this is short-lived and both men pursue her, unwilling to let her escape because she could potentially identify them. Yet, as she runs from what is almost certainly a death sentence, the power dynamic begins to shift, aided and abetted by the forest around her.

Some of the early plot developments in Hunted will be no revelation to horror fans: as an aside, IMDb lists this as an ‘Action/Thriller’, a decision I’d like to know more about as to me this is pure modern horror, with a slew of the hallmarks of same. Maybe anyone selecting this on the basis that it’s an action film may be less well-versed in what to expect. That said, even during its more predictable phase, Hunted does what it does very well. The casual entitlement of both men as they discuss their quarry is well-written, with a particularly nasty pep talk taking place in the car. It gets more interesting when we’re invited to look again at the relationship between both of these men; this is probably the first real moment where the film begins to deviate from type, steadily adding more unexpected developments into the mix from this point forward. There are still frustrating moments – stemming from Eve’s initial behaviour, mainly – but overall, Hunted does a good job of hooking the viewer by slowly disrupting expectations, without losing track of the main plot thread.

Some of the more physical scenes (and this is a very physical film) are very well done indeed, and some of the injuries – with their excellent supporting sound effects – are without doubt repellent to look at and to listen to, even if pushing the boundaries of probability. The whole film straddles the boundary between realism and fantasy as many of these pursuit horrors do, except that at around the hour mark Hunted makes it far clearer that there is more at play here than simply a woman finding superheroic reserves of strength – itself more fantasy than reality, of course, but usually the whole extent of the fantasy. The symbolism is punched in pretty hard, but the addition of dark fairytale aspects is engaging. In some respects its nightmarish setting and its folkloric inserts reminded me of Koko-di Koko-da (2019) whilst some aspects of the man vs woman in the wilderness called to mind Broken (2006), although the relationship between Eve and The Guy isn’t as complex.

The Guy himself is, for me, the weakest link here, a character who has the potential to hamstring the film completely, as – whilst I’ve no doubt Worthalter is doing exactly what he was asked for – he is so two-dimensional, so cartoonishly awful that it’s difficult to take him seriously. He comes off at first as a kind of infallible men’s rights seminar speaker. I’ve no doubt these people are out there in various dilutions, but it sure is tough – more so in the first couple of acts – to accept him. Happily, the film begins to dandle some plot markers which you know, or hope will bear fruit. There are some clever ideas here, some good links to earlier scenes and, overall, evidence of joined-up thinking in the writing. A lot of high action is held back for the last fifteen minutes or so and oh my, the sheer dementedness of this part of the film would surely divert anyone.

I’m not sure how you go from Persepolis (2007) to this, but that definitely shows some of the flexibility which finds its way into Hunted. This is an interesting, often grisly but exhilarating splice of fairy story and ordeal horror. It works.

Hunted (2020) comes exclusively to Shudder on 14th January 2021.