Hunted – Fantasia Review (4/5)

HUNTED is a new survival action-thriller from Belgium, but the dialogue is in English. And for good reason this time! We screened it at Fantasia 2020, but it will also be released on Shudder. Read our full Hunted movie review here!

HUNTED is a new survival movie in the action and thriller genres. We’ve screened it for Fantasia 2020, but Shudder will be releasing it later. The movie is from Belgium, but since the characters come from other countries, the dialogue is in English.

Also, this movie is just all kinds of awesome and both the hero and villain are perfect. More than enough reason to check it out when you get the chance!

Continue reading our Hunted movie review below.

A new take on Red Riding Hood?

From the very beginning of Hunted, you should notice similarities with the old Red Riding Hood fairytale. When our leading lady then dons a red coat, it’s impossible to ignore. Which is as it should be!

However, the wolves are not what you need to fear for this lady. Instead, it’s a very human man. And the dangerous man in this movie is one of the best villains. He is undoubtedly a villain (and a psycho criminal), but he switches between a helpful gentleman and the crazy killer so fast, it’ll make your head spin.

Arieh Worthalter plays this role so perfectly that everyone should watch Hunted for his performance.

Especially towards the end, our modern-day Red Riding Hood also turns out to be more than you’d expect. She’s portrayed by Lucie Debay who turns virtually feral towards the end. I loved it!

Lots more small characters are in this movie for short cameo-like appearances but they’re all part of the total experience, which is brilliant! One of the small roles is played by Guillaume Kerbusch who you’ll probably recognize from the Belgian Netflix TV series The Break.

Hunted will be out on Shudder!

Vincent Paronnaud directed and co-wrote Hunted which was co-written by Léa Pernollet. Vincent Paronnaud has already been nominated for an Academy Award for his animated feature Persepolis (2007) which has almost cult-like status. Hunted won’t be nominated for an Oscar, but it could easily win with audiences.

And yes, the fact that this movie is in English and that there is a reason why this is the case despite it being a Belgian movie, is brilliant. Such a simple thing, but after watching movies such as The Snowman and Domino, I appreciate it in an almost extreme way.

Also read: Our 1-star review of Brian De Palma’s Domino here >

When you get the chance, you really should check out Hunted. It’s set for a later release on Shudder which will be the perfect opportunity.

Hunted had its world premiere at Fantasia 2020 on August 21, 2020. It will be out on Shudder from January 14, 2020.

Details

Director: Vincent Paronnaud
Writers: Vincent Paronnaud, Léa Pernollet
Stars: Lucie Debay, Ciaran O’Brien, Arieh Worthalter