The Hunt 2020 ›
Released in March 2020 after a tumultuous marketing journey, emerged as a visceral, violent, and highly satirical action-thriller that aimed to take on the profound political divide in the United States. Directed by Craig Zobel ( Compliance , American Gods ) and penned by the acclaimed writing team of Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof ( LOST , Watchmen ), the film was designed to provoke, ruffle feathers, and ultimately hold a mirror up to both sides of the American political spectrum.
When Universal rescheduled the film for March 13, 2020, they leaned into the controversy with the tagline: "The most talked-about movie of the year is one that no one has actually seen yet."
The "prey" are not random civilians. They are "deplorables" – specifically, working-class conservatives from "flyover country" who have been kidnapped after falling for an online conspiracy theory. Their captors are "elites" – coastal, wealthy, liberal aristocrats who have built an estate called "Manor Hill" to act out their violent fantasies against those they despise online.
The genius of lies in its refusal to offer a moral compass. Most political thrillers want you to cheer for one ideology. This film wants you to flinch at both. The Hunt 2020
The hunters are a group of wealthy, elite liberals, led by the mysterious Athena Stone (Hilary Swank). The hunted are working-class, conservative citizens selected from across the United States.
The film reveals that the entire hunt started because of a joke. The elites were text-messaging about a fake hunt, which leaked online. The conspiracy theorists believed it was real and ruined the elites' careers through doxxing. In retaliation, the elites decided to make the fake hunt a reality. Critical Reception and Legacy
The script, which the writers have said was inspired by the rise of online conspiracy theories like Pizzagate and QAnon, uses the hunt as a metaphor for the toxic culture wars of the Trump era. The film also draws a loose inspiration from Richard Connell's classic 1924 short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," in which a big-game hunter decides to hunt a human being for sport. Released in March 2020 after a tumultuous marketing
The movie is noted for its "revolving carousel" of potential leads in the first act, killing off well-known actors early to keep the audience guessing. The Hunt (2020)
A detailed character analysis of and her subversion of the "Final Girl" trope
★★★★☆ (4/5) The Hunt is loud, messy, and occasionally gratuitous. But it is also the sharpest political satire of the Trump era. Betty Gilpin gives a star-making performance, and the film’s refusal to coddle any political tribe makes it a refreshing, dangerous, and hilarious ride. Just don’t expect to feel good about yourself afterward. Most political thrillers want you to cheer for one ideology
Watching in 2025 (or beyond) feels prescient. The year 2020 delivered a pandemic, social unrest, and a presidential election that divided families. The film’s central argument—that the wealthy and powerful encourage us to fight each other over identity while they control the levers of society—is not new, but it is urgent.
: The script is loosely inspired by Richard Connell’s famous 1924 short story, "The Most Dangerous Game" .
The group awakens and finds a crate of weapons. The hunt begins immediately with snipers and traps.
The hunters are a secretive group of liberal elites, who refer to their captured prey derisively as "deplorables"—a direct nod to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign remark about Trump supporters. They have gathered at a remote, luxurious location known only as "The Manor" to hunt humans for sport. One of the hunted, a soft-spoken but resourceful woman named Crystal (Betty Gilpin), proves to be no ordinary prey. While her fellow captives are picked off one by one with gruesome creativity, Crystal uses unexpected combat skills and street smarts to turn the tables, picking off the hunters one by one as she methodically makes her way toward the mysterious woman at the center of it all, Athena (Hilary Swank).
Critically, the film received from critics, reflected in its "rotten" score of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews. On Metacritic, it scored 54 out of 100, based on 45 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". While many praised Betty Gilpin's performance and the film's action sequences, others found the satire to be too blunt and toothless to be effective. Some critics accused the film of "both-sides-ism," arguing it failed to take a meaningful stance, while others simply found it to be "lame and weaselly".