The Woman Hunt

The best thing about this movie is the opening credits, with an animated target centering on the names of the leads. The second best thing is a funny Sid Haig line: "My nose ain't the thing that grows!". The third is the (brief) female nudity. The fourth COULD be Pat Woodell, who was striking in "The Big Doll House", but here she is almost unrecognizable with that awful haircut. The fifth COULD be the lesbian villainess, but it's pretty clear that the actress who plays her doesn't have her heart into it. And that's it for the good or could-be good things. The "woman hunt" of the title doesn't begin until after about 50 minutes, and it's totally unexciting like the rest of the movie. Those who saw this at the drive-ins back in 1975 must have been asleep in their cars, or at least otherwise "occupied". I can't imagine them paying any attention to the screen. (*)

"Woman Hunt" is one of the more boring flicks from Corman's New World company. As usual some sexy American gals are abducted in some third world country. First they're used as hookers then later they become hunting prey for wealthy men. The always cool bad guy, Sid Haig, does bring some life into the clichès but unfortunately it's not enough even though some sleazy and violent scenes keeps you awake. A mediocre effort at best.

As you can derive from the title as well as from the tagline "Set your sights on the Tastiest Game of all", this is a cheap and extremely anti-feminist exploitation version of the legendary cinema classic "The Most Dangerous Game", with abducted slave girls (of all ethnics) instead of shipwrecked passengers and constant sexist dialogs instead of genuine suspense. But hey, who's complaining, because "The Woman Hunt" is one of the most wondrously tasteless and vastly entertaining movies of its kind. With a team including Eddie Romero (director), Jack Hill (writer) and star Sid Haig, you simply know not to expect a masterpiece of plotting or sophistication, but you definitely are guaranteed to witness thrills, bloody action and loads of nudity. Ironically enough, the titular hunt never comes … or at least not as it was intended. The first three quarters of the film revolve on the "recruitment" of the unsuspecting ladies (for example, luring two innocent girls on a yacht) and the second half focuses on their escape alongside an employee rebelling against his boss. The big chief and his wealthy businessmen guests go after them, of course, but the hunt is unprepared and hectic. Meanwhile, there are large amounts of mutual intrigues between the hunters as well as the preys. The obscurity status of "The Woman Hunt" is very undeserved, if you ask me, as it's definitely much better than the majority of contemporary (s)exploitation movies. The tropical island setting is magnificent, all female cast members (either good or bad) are stunningly gorgeous, Sid Haig obviously had a fun time sprouting offensive lines and there are some highly memorable moments of gratuitous violence to enjoy. Of course you've seen this premise several times before already, and probably better, but "The Woman Hunt" somehow feels refreshing and at least the script attempts to add ingenious little story elements, like for instance the sex-identity crisis of Lisa Todd's character and the unexpected anti-climax end shot. I'm probably way too generous in my praising and rating for this movie, but what the hell, it's sensational and super-rancid 70's goodness that comes with the highest possible recommendation.

The Woman Hunt is yet another version of the often copied classic The Most Dangerous Game; only this time, the main focus is on sleaze rather than horror. The film was written by Jack Hill and directed by Eddie Romero - two of the people involved in bringing us sleaze classics such as The Big Doll House and The Big Bird Cage; so anyone that has seen those two will have some idea of what to expect from this one. Naturally, the film was made on a low budget and as such it all feels very cheap - they couldn't afford good actors either, but apparently beautiful women don't cost much...so that's good. Naturally, the basis for the plot focuses around the idea of a bunch of women being captured; and then hunted down for sport. We focus on the group of mercenaries charged with rounding up the women needed (which are kidnapped to order). They hunt down the women and then take them back to their employers; a rich group of people that use the women as prostitutes for their rich clients.

The Woman Hunt clearly does take influence from The Most Dangerous Game; although it doesn't completely rip it off and only the second half of the film is a real copy. The film is very uneven for much of the duration. Parts of it seem to be dubbed too, and the dubbing is really atrocious. The night shots are far too dark and at times I struggled to see what was going on. This also transcends to the plot, as the film is interesting in parts; and then rather boring in others, which really brings down the quality of the film. The only big name in the cast belongs to Sid Haig; and if anything he's completely wasted - especially considering how much he stood out in Jack Hill's pair of women in prison movies. The film is not very graphic either; although the version I saw ran for barely seventy five minutes, so there's a good chance that it was cut. Even so, it could have been a lot sleazier which would have improved the whole film. Overall, I'd say this might be worth seeing for fans of grindhouse cinema...but it's a long way from being a classic.

While I'm certain that the intended drive-in audience wasn't paying much attention in the "passion pits","The Woman Hunt" is not totally without interest. One intriguing aspect is that the film tends to flip back and forth between night and day faster than pages in a book. Sid Haig stands out as the only semi-competent actor, the hunted in the jungle story is simple and familiar, yet there is a raw fascination to "The Woman Hunt" from a bad movie perspective. On the plus side are some semi-creative kills, decent jungle photography, and the attractive hunted women. There is even a climactic nude swim, with an unexpected ending. - MERK