The Hunted

TL;DR: I really enjoyed this one! Solid acting, pacing, atmosphere, and cinematography. Unfortunately, it commits so major FF sins. (Strong 6/10)

"The Hunted" is the directorial debut of Josh Stewart (who also wrote the script and stars in the film). He crafts a dense and moody atmosphere that creates a lasting sense of dread and keeps you glued to the screen. The film manages to be pretty creepy and features two main characters who are, thankfully, not incompetent fools. I was impressed and relieved to see that this wasn't going to be just another typical found footage horror. The script is smart and knows exactly what it wants to be/do. I was never bored and never felt like I was watching an amateur project.

Also, the audio is mixed extremely well! Every bit of audio feels like it was captured by the camera's internal mic. Never once did they just slap a bunch of digital sound effects on in post. At least not that I could tell. This is one thing that helps the atmosphere feel so tense and creepy.

However...

There are 2 key flaws:

1. While the mood is dense, visceral and creepy... Every. Single. Scare... is a jump scare (with large variations/sudden jumps in volume). Yes, the atmosphere is near perfect, but its such a shame that all that build up, all that tension and all of the attention to detail is spoiled by cheap jump scares with little variety. They had so much going for them and they resorted to the oldest trick in the book. Dear filmmakers, jump scares are not "scary." All they do is startle you, not terrify you. So much potential wasted on lazy jumps.

2. For some reason, they used a freakin soundtrack... Why, why, why do so many found footage directors keep slapping on soundtracks? This film could have easily stood on its own without it and it would've been better for it. I will give it credit and say that it was fairly unique and fit the theme of hunters in the woods. But soundtracks Do Not belong in FF. If you want to use a soundtrack, use a traditional narrative style of filming. Period.

Despite these major gripes, I still think the film had enough going for it to mostly transcend its flaws. But it had the potential to be so much more than the final product.

Overall, I'd recommend it to any FF junky. I enjoyed it quite a bit and it is well above the average FF indie flick. Especially when you consider that this is the director's first feature film.

Or, as I have already said, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST rip off too, to summarize found footage stuff. There were tons of them since all those years, especially BLAIR WITCH, before REC, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, CLOVERFIELD and so on. So back to this one, the topic itself, without the footage scheme, is not new either. Another DELIVERANCE rip-off too, if you watch closely. Not bad at all, I have seen much worse, but it may be tiring to watch only this kind of material. Yes, you can feel tired and bored. But once in a while, I am OK. This feature sounds very amateur though, but I tried to put that besides. I tried. It remains too much talkative and flat, a problem for this kind of directing.

Great directorial debut.

The plot is actually fairly good. Two men set out on a hunting trip filming in an attempt to start a new hunting show.

"I just hope we have enough to show the programming people what our show would look like" - Jake

Hopefully better camera work than what's showcased in The Hunted.

Frequently subjects are out of focus. Poor lighting. Extremely noisy footage. Somethings looked kinda like a poorly done green screen.

Despite the horrible camera work, I thought the movie was fairly scary. It builds tension well, the screams caused me to jump several times!

The acting was done fairly well. The dialog felt organic. The plot was great. I think this may have been a little too ambitious for the budget, or skillset.

Overall The Hunted is definitely worth the watch.

When I was a kid, we used to tell ghost stories or re-tell urban legends around the the campfire. With the advent of the "found footage" genre, we've found a whole new way to keep our kids awake all night, even camping in the backyard.

"Blair Witch" did it first. But in my opinion, Josh Stewart has done it best. The filming wasn't so obviously orchestrated as to suggest a D.O.P., but then again, this stuff doesn't just 'happen'. The editing was great and the thrill of terror and suspense was heightened by the anticipation of the next 'event' (don't want to spoil what happens).

This is a very well crafted, well presented and well produced film - unlike so many other "found footage" projects that make you wonder if maybe someone's dad bought them an editing suite for Christmas.

Next time I pitch a tent around a campfire - if I'm ever so brave after watching this - I'll bring along a laptop and share this tale. Then, spend the night in my SUV with the doors locked.

Ironically, the only thing missing in this film was an actual campfire. Otherwise, very very well done and the cast and crew deserve an 'A' for effort and an "A+" for execution.

Someone else said he or she was being merciful bu giving it a 2. This isn't even worth a 1. These are supposed to be established actors? This is barely a quarter or a camp fire story. A beginning build up with nothing else. Just random noises and movements in poor light. The scariest part of the movie was at the very beginning where he scared his daughter in their house before even going on his adventure to the woods. I waited until the end, yet there was no climax. Nice scenery. That's the only redeeming quality. It was like a first time YouTube video with a cell phone done by 4 year olds.