Hunters

In order to mix mystery and action, the show chooses a more militaristic approach to the usual premise. It doesn't provide much in terms of characters, although there might be slight potential here. For action itself, the camera is unsteady and the dark tone of cinematography doesn't help much. There's not much here that bring hook and creativity beyond the casual draw.

Flynn (Nathan Phillips) is an agent with difficult situation, wife missing and awkward step-daughter. The strange relationship with his wife's daughter can be appealing in mildly dysfunctional kind of way, but the acting doesn't create any spark. Flynn himself is the typical agent, while this secret organization lacks any appealing identity.

The pilot misses its chance for impressive introduction, something similar to MiB first initiation that really sets the tone. While it may be done to keep the mysticism, a series with organization at the core needs to establish itself well, yet Flynn is merely unceremoniously thrown in. The antagonist creature has a good design to it, the make-up does present something humanoid.

Graphic is occasionally too dark, which can be distracting. It tries to bring more authentic military look and the shaky visual might diminish the effort. The narrative doesn't pique much interest either, it might utilize the thriller aspect, yet even this is rather questionable as none of the characters can effectively draw audience to emotionally invest in the series.

"Hunters" manages to cover the basic sci-fi, but there's little drive to push the series further.

I avoided Hunters for the 1st couple of episodes and then tried episode #3 and all I wanted was the back-story: who is Allison, how did she get here, what happened to her parents, who the hell is chasing her and why is she different from the difference, never mind the humans?.

So I started in on #2 and then to #1 and I was even more hooked. Hunters has a highly atmospheric, Dark City/Synchronicity look and feel. It is cinematically very dark to carry off the Predator thread. Hunters is well acted, good dialogue and not overly FXd.

I mentioned Predator, Aliens and Spock but it also resembles The Americans in its paranoia and the unease I feel while watching it. It definitely plays to the unease with 'the other' going on in US society, particularly with the trans-gendered issues of gender bending but more toward what will eventually happen when we are augmented by nanotechnology to the point of being 'aliens' in our own societies.

I think if you like The Aliens on E4 you will enjoy Hunters as well. I'm in.

--Thom

I give it a 5 because it has potential BUT this is what's wrong with SciFi today. Maybe it's just the perception that some of the British or Australian directors,writers etc that audiences are stupid/ignorant of the real world or maybe they are themselves.

Here's what I mean, no one in this day and age over the age of 10 thinks a CRACK secret organization sends 3 guys into a bldg to search for dangerous aliens/monsters or bad guys.

OR if you do the guys are THE bad asses of the world. Not 3 guys who wander in , lose track of each other , disobey orders or carry radios that don't have earpieces and throat mikes so the baddies don't hear you or basically run around like idiots and get themselves killed.

Now I know some may say well that was just a device so we can set up that he loves her or she lost a loved one or whatever BUT! if you don't get the little things right then no matter how good you do the biggies you only be mediocre, hire a military consultant for Pete's sake.

And I will give this a few more looks but as of now that's what it is mediocre MTV scifi show.

Wow that was long winded for me but I had high hopes for this one and they just aren't up to snuff the acting's not that good and the script is not THAT well done, they throw in a little gore for shock value and it's done poorly and not really needed if the show was done well. Well nuff said , hope they correct this one but it feels kinda like an overseas copy of a really good American show. Sorry guys but you know USA makes the most entertaining movies and shows... we just make them in Canada now LOL

OK I am Australian and I watched 5 mins of this and knew right off it was made in Australia with a full Australian cast but one.

For some reason it might be the lack of syfi series made in Australia, Australian directors and actors like to treat all work as Art house drama. We just don't do suspense well. So saying that, this makes the first ep very disjointed. Like other reviewers, you do not feel a connection to the characters. This I blame the director. The acting is fine if you can get over the bad American accents. Flynn the main is pretty good with his dialect, the others need a lot of work. But the whole ep is all over the place. As viewers we want to love the main guy we want to have empathy for him weather it be a syfi or crime show. Sadly if the directing does not pull together suspense and let the characters develop I see this not picking up a second series.

Hunters offers up a clumsy start, to a series that, so far, fails to inspire.

The show taps into the shadow government organization hunting aliens stick. Its hardly original but that's OK. What's not OK is the poorly constructed storyline and characterizations.

Its story never really makes clear whats happening or why. You get vague pieces of information, combined with showy scenes of amongst other things, the done to death, alien autopsy. Perhaps this is intended to intrigue the viewer? The reality is, it simply confuses.

The characterizations are hardly impressive either. They feel flat and lifeless. There's no strong emotion, clarity of purpose or real connection built between the key characters. This includes those who are romantically involved. As a consequence the key players are, for the most part, rendered uninteresting and dismissable.

For myself, there is little to like here. I was genuinely bored by the first episode and doubt, I'll be taking this one any further. Three out of ten from me.