Hunter Hunter

For some people, hunting is one of the highlights of every year. No matter if you are hunting for moose, deer, hogs, and much much more, i understand that the excitement is always as fun, when it´s time to go out into the forest. I have only been on one hunting trip once, and that was in Värmland in Sweden, i believe it was around 2000 with a former co worker of mine. Since i did not have a hunter licence, or a gun license, i could just sit and watch for the most part. I can say that i did have a lot of coffee, and i did get a lot of relaxing. The guy who did hunt was called Sven, and he had a friend with him as well who also had a hunter license. They were going hunting for several days, but i only joined them for one whole day. That day that we were in the forest, they did not shoot anything. But the day after ( when i was not there ), they did manage to shoot a moose. I don´t know how big it was, but i do remember Sven coming back to work and telling us about his lucky shot. I don´t think i will be getting a hunter license, simply because i am not interested in hunting. If i could hunt with a grenade launcher, then i might change my mind. Why not make hunting more fun, right? Speaking of hunting, there are a lot of films that bring in the subject of hunting, in many different film genres. One of the films that i especially enjoy that includes hunting, is the American horror thriller The Hunt, from director Craig Zobel. I have reviewed this film on my blog, so if you want to know my personal opinion, go check it out. Basically, this film is about a group of humans who are chosen to be hunted by hunters, who love killing humans. We have seen a similar idea in the John Woo classic Hard Target, but The Hunt have a different twist on this idea, with some satirical comedy as well. Definetely worth checking out on VOD, DVD or Blu Ray. Speaking of hunting, i finally had a moment to check out a film called Hunter Hunter on VOD. I have heard some positive reviews on this film, so i was actually excited to check it out. Is this one of the best hunting films in a long time, or should Hunter Hunter be left on the DVD / Blu Ray shelves to dust for good?

Joseph Mersaul ( Dewon Sawa ), his wife Anne Mersault ( Camille Sullivan ), and their daughter Renee Mersaul ( Summer H. Howell ) live in the remote Canadian wilderness, making a meager profit as fur trappers. But the money does not last long, and Anne is frustrated over their lifestyle, not knowing if they will have food on their table. Joseph trains Renee, so she knows how to bait and trap various animals. But their plans are not going so well, when they believe a wolf is eating trapped animals along the line. Joseph decides to go and track the wolf, even if Anne is against this idea. As Joseph continue to track the wolf, he will soon discover something unexpected.

I honestly did not know what to expect from this film, since i only knew very little about the plot. But this is actually a quite interesting thriller, that tries to show the life of a family that tries to live a very protected life, out in nowhere. And this is also a sad story, since you can clearly sense that the mother Anne ( played by wonderful actress Camille Sullivan, who i especially remember from the TV mini series The Disappearance ), is worried about her daughter´s future, and that they have no money at all. You can tell by Camille´s acting that she tries to capture the emotions, of a mother who wish that they had a more civilized life, instead of living out in nowhere. Actor Devon Sawa ( who fans of the first Final Destination film definetely remember ) does one of the best acting performances i have seen him do as the character Mersault. In one way he is a loving father to his daughter Renee ( played really well by young actress Summer H. Howell ), but he also is stuck in the old days, that he does not want to live in an ordinary society. This actually makes this story feel a bit more interesting outside of the hunting scenes, a family in crisis. Just the fact that Renee is 13 years old and does not even go to a puclic school, shows that she could loose a lot of experience in life, and living deep inside a forest will not help her future. How will she know what she would like to be when she grows up, when all she knows is hunting with her father? How will she learn an ordinary life as a teenager, when she is not allowed to go in an ordinary school? And then we have the fear that this family is living with, as they believe that some animal is out there, ready to hurt them. Does this beast really exist, or is this something else waiting for them out there? You could say there are two stories here, but they actually match them well together. Director Shawn Linden give us a thriller that is not only well made, but he also give us an honest portrait of how rough life can be, if we decide not to live in an ordinary society. Hunter Hunter is especially interesting from a psychological level, through the eyes of this family. Definetely worth checking out this summer, if you are looking for a thriller that actually have something important to say.

Rating: DDD

A suggestion, if you want to see Hunter Hunter on Blu ray, pick up a copy from Shout! Factory, just copy the link below to get to the web page:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/hunter-hunter?product_id=7603