La chasse est ouverte

Richard Lynch often plays the villain, but seeing hero types Peter Fonda, and John Philip Law as Lynch's comrades in crime is what really makes "Recon Game" a winner. It appears the three leads had a long leash as far as improvisation goes, and their constant bantering probably strays somewhat from what might have been scripted. The film is not perfect, and there are at least a bunch of tedious moments, especially inside the hunting lodge, including a truly boring sequence involving a Monopoly game. Once the "prey" are turned loose and the hunt begins, this raw revenge flick kicks into gear. "Recon Game" compares favorably with another rarely seen hunted in the woods film, "Hunter's Blood". If you can find it, see it, and along with "Recon Game" they would make a terrific double feature. - MERK

I saw this one on a bootleg off a Norwegian (?!) prerecord that was partially letterboxed (about 1.80:1), with subtitles in the lower matte. I ended up fast-forwarding through large portions of it because it was THAT BORING. It reminded me in a lot of ways of "Funny Games", another pretentious piece of s**t movie. They're both sadistic, anti-humanist exploitation pics and shouldn't pretend to be anything else. Don't get me wrong: I like movies that wallow in violence for the sake of violence - as long as they have the courtesy to be at least entertaining. This movie is not entertaining. It made me feel personally abused, much like the victims of the hunters, which maybe is the point, but then why in the f--k would I want to spend 100 minutes of my life enduring that (though, obviously, I did...).

This film was different, but very good. The beginning was interesting, and Peter Fonda played really well, he made this film worth watching. Although he was a "bad guy", he had a certain hidden charm. I wish this film would come out on DVD, so I could buy it.

What can we say about Ken, Greg and Arty? Fine upstanding citizens, respectable family men, hard workers who enjoy blowing off steam with a little bit of adultery, kidnapping and murder!

Once a year these wonderful human beings leave their families behind for a few days and head into the arms of Mother Nature. Fast flowing rivers and endless empty forests are just what the doctor ordered, the perfect place to unwind and more importantly, the perfect place to muffle the screams of their latest victims.

This year they stumble across a couple with car trouble and take them to their isolated cabin in the woods. It's a crime that is committed with such ease and bravado there's no doubt these men have done this before. In the cabin the man is handcuffed and humiliated, forced to cook and clean. His girlfriend, on the other hand, is subjected to horrors of a different kind. When the fun is over the next day the couple are told they will be set free, however, this is no cause for celebration, as they soon realize the true nightmare has only just begun.

The three men are played by Peter Fonda, Richard Lynch and John Philip Law. Apart from being war vets, little is known about the characters they play, but judging by their pastime of kidnap and murder we can guess they are struggling somewhat to settle into normal life.

Released in 1974, smack-bang in the middle of the exploitation era, Open Season is both low budget and violence heavy. Think of it as cross between a spaghetti westerns and Deliverance. It is certainly not a movie for everyone but Peter Fonda calmed it was one of his favorite. "I had a good time on that one. That was my first chance to play a really evil guy. "

Out of the comments I have read about this movie, including the locations where the movie was supposedly shot, it appears that someone did not do their homework, or has not done much traveling. I saw this movie at a theater when it first came out, and recognized the scenery immediately. As the guys were headed out on their vacation, it showed them crossing the Mackinac Bridge, which separates lower Michigan from the upper peninsula, as they were obviously headed for Canada on their hunting trip. Whether the rest of the movie was shot in Canada is questionable, and the bridge may have been a "file shot" which is why it wasn't mentioned in the shooting locations. I have been wondering for years why this movie isn't mentioned in most of the lists of his movie credits. Good, bad, or indifferent, I for one, would like to see it again, just for old times sake. Please... would someone release this on video or DVD?!