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Parents' Guide to

The Hunt

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Intensely gory but fiendishly funny dark political satire.

Movie R 2020 89 minutes
The Hunt Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Leslie C.
Leslie C. Parent of 10 and 12-year-old
March 12, 2020
age 18+

0 stars!

Disgusting, evil and immoral. Not worth watching. FAIL!!!!!

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
2 people found this helpful.
melissaelvis
melissaelvis Parent of 12-year-old
July 4, 2021
age 16+

WOW

This is the best film in the world. If yo love bloody violence in a film like I do, you would love it two. The fight scenes are creative and bloody and amazing but there are a lot of people that are younger who shouldn’t see this film. But I’m 13 and this was an absolute blast!
1 person found this helpful.
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE HUNT, a woman named Athena (Hilary Swank) texts with a group of liberal friends. They're discussing "the hunt," in which they'll go out and kill a group of "deplorables." Later, a man wakes up to find himself on a plane. The well-dressed people he sees tell him he "woke up too soon" and kill him. Then more people wake up, gagged, in the woods. They discover a crate full of guns and other weapons -- and, before long, they're being shot at and killed. Only Crystal (Betty Gilpin) seems wise enough to stay a jump ahead of her tormenters. Using her wits and some kind of elite training, she fights her way to the end of the puzzle and faces off with its chief architect, Athena. But nothing is quite as it seems.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8 ):
Kids say (12 ):

Insanely gory but also fiendishly funny, this clever dark satire takes a familiar scenario and uses it to boldly skewer both red and blue Americans, painting both sides as equally absurd. The Hunt is brightly, cheerfully in control of its situation, like a master comedian working the room. It seems to have done what few others could even imagine, which is to correctly parody the attributes of both extremes of American political ideologies without anger or hate. It merely finds everyone preposterous.

Director Craig Zobel, who also questioned the worst of human behavior in Compliance, and co-writers Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof (of the Watchmen TV series), start The Hunt with a series of shocks. They break all the rules and let us know that anything is possible, that whatever is going to happen will likely happen before we're ready for it. The movie is smooth, fast-moving, and intricately designed. If it has a flaw, it lies in Gilpin's Crystal. She's amazingly cool, resourceful, and appealing in her slow, thoughtful way of speaking. But she tips the balance of the political satire, making it not quite an equal roasting of both sides. However, she's so fascinating -- and mysterious -- that it's easy to forgive.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Hunt's violence. How did it affect you? Is it meant to be shocking or thrilling? What's the difference? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Does the movie equally satirize both sides of the American political spectrum? What does it ultimately say? Does it have anything positive to offer?

  • Is the movie funny? What exactly is "dark humor," and why do we sometimes laugh at things that are otherwise so disturbing?

  • Is Crystal a role model? Is she objectified?

  • Do you think the controversy around the film's original release was warranted? Why or why not?

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