The Hunt – Blumhouse Thriller

UPDATE (February 12, 2020): Blumhouse’s Satirical Thriller “The Hunt” Releases on March 13.

The release of Blumhouse Productions’ action thriller ‘The Hunt’ has been officially canceled and there is no future release date available in the Universal Studios’ release calendar. However, some still believe that an international release via streaming service is still a possibility.

Originally planned to be released on September 27, 2019, Universal Studios later canceled its release in the wake of the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings in early August 2019. The film’s premise that involves human hunting, although in a satirical take, draws criticism from various quarters, including the US President Donald Trump.

On August 3, 2019, El Paso shooting, a gunman fatally shot 20 people and injured 24 others. Similarly, in another such incident the very next day on August 4, another gunman shot and killed nine people and wounded 17 others.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES STATEMENT

WHILE UNIVERSAL PICTURES HAD ALREADY PAUSED THE MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR THE HUNT, AFTER THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION, THE STUDIO HAS DECIDED TO CANCEL OUR PLANS TO RELEASE THE FILM. WE STAND BY OUR FILMMAKERS AND WILL CONTINUE TO DISTRIBUTE FILMS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BOLD AND VISIONARY CREATORS, LIKE THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SATIRICAL SOCIAL THRILLER, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT NOW IS NOT THE RIGHT TIME TO RELEASE THIS FILM. — UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

The trailer of ‘The Hunt’ was released and it was appreciated by many, although the core idea of humans hunting human beings for sport did sound bizarre to many.

Watch “The Hunt” Movie Trailer

‘The Hunt’ Storyline

‘The Hunt’ follows twelve strangers waking up in a clearing with no idea on where they all are, or how they reached in such a weird location. They also don’t know they’ve been chosen for a very specific purpose … The Hunt.  

In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of 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), 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 (Hilary Swank) at the center of it all. The preys know that every year a bunch of elites kidnap normal folks like them and hunt them for sport. But this time, they pick the wrong game.

Leaving aside the controversy, the storyline seems something to do with socio-political tension or economic disparity that has finally resulted in the peculiar situation in the story.

Probably, the film is more in line with producer Jason Blum’s Get Out and The Purge movie series. This has even elevated the level of curiosity if this is going to be more than just an action/horror thriller, who knows …might be a new mysterious social thriller.

THE HUNT MOVIE CREDITS

CAST: Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Glenn Howerton, Ike Barinholtz, Betty Gilpin, Amy Madigan, and Hilary Swank.
DIRECTOR: Craig Zobel
WRITERS: Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof
PRODUCERS: Jason Blum, Damon Lindelof