High Octane Pictures is trying to capitalize on Blumhouse’s canceled and very controversial thriller The Hunt with the similar sounding American Hunt. The first trailer arrives with the promise that this is ‘the most controversial horror release of 2019’. Whether or not that really is the case, if you were waiting for and disappointed by the disappearance of The Hunt this past fall, then you might want to check out American Hunt as a consolation prize. It does have a pretty cool poster if nothing else.
‘Hunt or Be Hunted’. That’s the tagline of American Hunt, which may trick folks into thinking they are watching the canceled Blumhouse thriller The Hunt. But audiences are pretty suave these days, and right of the bat, the absence of Emma Roberts and Hillary Swank are going to trigger some bells in the back of the head.
Having not seen The Hunt, who’s to say which is the better movie. Blumhouse usually crafts entertaining horror on a low budget, and The Hunt, removed from all the buzz, looked like a fun time at the theater. American Hunt gives off some of those same vibes, though at a much lower budget. And let’s face it Blumhouse is already working with some of the cheapest scares in the biz.
American Hunt is coming to kill your holidays. The movie is being released by High Octane Pictures this December, claiming that the upcoming holidays are ‘the most dangerous time imaginable’. From the director of Clowntergeist, and from the studio that brought you The Jurassic Games and Cannibal Farm, comes the most taboo horror release of 2019. Perhaps only because The Hunt got canceled, and this is dealing with similar themes?
In American Hunt, a group of friends are torn apart when they become part of two human hunter’s sick game. The men give them ten minutes to hide, and then the real hunt begins. This should sound slightly familiar. In Blumhouse’s The Hunt, twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted, Crystal, turns the tables on her pursuers.
The Hunt was canceled because it apparently showcased liberals hunting rightwing conservatives for their stance in American politics. It was a satire that riled up mostly those on the republican side of the fence, and was canceled in the wake of another American mass shooting. American Hunt doesn’t look to be getting as political.
Written and directed by Aaron Mirtes, and starring Lacy Hartselle, Taylor Novak, and Allison Shrum, American Hunt begins December 3 on DVD and Digital from High Octane Pictures. You can check out the trailer direct from High Octane Pictures and October Coast. This comes along with a pretty amazing poster and a few stills.
Contributing writer for Movieweb since 2001. Owns a dog who loves watching Milo and Otis on repeat.
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