Mark Reviews Movies: HUNTER HUNTER

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Review by Mark Dujsik | December 17, 2020

Just as the story isn't really—as it seems at first—about a wolf threatening the lives and livelihood of a family, Hunter Hunter isn't just a thriller about the known and unknown dangers deep in the woods. Writer/director Shawn Linden's film is also about how people cling to their ways, trying to protect them without giving a second thought to the potential consequences. Here, secrets and silence are almost as much to blame for the horrors that unfold as the pair of killers in the forest.

Linden takes his time establishing these accidental moves toward self-destruction, because he knows he can. We watch as characters lie to one another about the real nature and danger of what's out there in the woods, and we watch as they unintentionally set traps—in one particular case, literally—for one another, knowing that those snares will spring and cause a lot more damage down the road. It can't be helped, because these characters are so set in their ways. As inevitable as the end result of all this deception and secret-keeping may be, Linden is still able to surprise us with certain developments.

That's because he does take his time. We meet Joseph (Devon Sawa), a fur trapper in the modern era, living with his wife Anne (Camille Sullivan) and their daughter Renee (Summer H. Howell) in a cramped, little shack in the forest. The father teaches the daughter the ways and tools of his trade, passed down to him—like the cabin—from generations before.

Anne isn't too thrilled with the prospect. Indeed, she has become convinced that the family needs to move closer to town, where Renee can go to school, make friends, and see the possibility of a life beyond this one.

Joseph doesn't want that. He's suspicious of people and cities, even though the house Anne has her eyes on isn't even in a place one could call a town.

His disagreements might not matter soon. The animals in the area are becoming scarce, and the furs that the family can sell to the nearby shop aren't profitable enough for the supplies necessary to keep trapping.

Joseph thinks he knows the reason for the recent shortage. A rogue wolf, which caused him problems before, appears to have returned.

Joseph has a simple plan: He'll kill the wolf. If he does, all of the family's problems will be solved, and he can stop having this debate about moving and, on a more fundamental level, having his life's work questioned at every turn.

That—and that alone—is essentially the plot here. It might not seem like much with which to work, but Linden succinctly and firmly establishes these characters and the dynamics between them. While there are some mysteries and sequences of action within the story, it really is about these characters—what they're willing to do, hide, and potentially put in jeopardy in order to get what they want.

The stubborn and cynical Joseph seems like the main character from the start, and we do follow him for as long as possible, as he establishes his sense of dominance over his own future, as well as that of his family, and sets out to hunt the wolf. One of the tricks Linden uses to notable effect is what he doesn't show us. There's a sequence early in the hunt—as Joseph stalks the wolf, Renee runs back to the house, and Anne tries to bring water back home—that establishes a possible threat for all three characters. It's the unseen—what could be actually here or really over there or just a character's fearful imagination working against them—that serves as the source of tension in the skillfully assembled montage.

Any specific details about what unfolds from the hunt must end here, because, as simple as this story may be, there are some turns that completely re-adjust our understanding of what's actually going on in the woods. What can be mentioned is how Linden maintains that sense of the unknown, even as we see evidence of what's really happening right in front of us (Joseph comes across a scene of carnage, and certain specifics are shot in such a way that they register on the periphery). Joseph keeps this vital information from his family and refuses to call any kind of authority that could help (There's a reason, which Anne learns after things have gotten out of control—and which prevents any kind of outside help).

Secrets are deadly here—not as menacing as whatever is in the forest, but undoubtedly leaving characters unprepared for the threats that are to come. Anne, who's stubborn in her own way, gets in on the deception, too, keeping the result of a close encounter with the wolf from Renee in order to protect her. All of these secrets and lies keep spiraling. Joseph doesn't say anything about the genuine menace in the forest—to spare them and, perhaps more to the point, defend his way of living. Anne and Renee keep going about their routines, believing they know of what to beware. If Anne had told her daughter the truth after the encounter with the wolf, maybe they'd know to stay away from the eerie howling at night.

Linden escalates the tension of this scenario with precision, and while it all builds toward some inevitable tragedy (a lot of tragedies, actually), Hunter Hunter still surprises. That's never truer than during the film's final sequence, which is so shockingly grisly that, even if one knows what's coming (Linden hints at it right up until it happens), it's impossible to prepare oneself for it.

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