With his latest directorial effort, Michael Fredianelli tackles the backwoods thriller subgenre. At first glance (particularly if you've seen the trailer), the movie might look like familiar territory. Do we really need another movie about hunters or campers finding themselves ambushed in the woods by killers? Well in fact, HUNTER AND THE HUNTED has more depth than it might initially appear to have. At its heart, it's a character study and the character's motivations are much more complex than what you may expect them to be in what would seem like a simple cat and mouse game of survival. As the protagonists, we've got a group of predominately "bro" like characters who binge drink and converse about GAME OF THRONES and THE DARK KNIGHT while playing hand-held video games. They're rather unlikable people save for lead character Mark (played by Michael Fredianelli in an understated performance) who is the most relatable. There's purposely little revealed about this character and he plays a little like the viewer's playable video game character for them to project themselves onto. While the "bro" characters are over the top, it's through the lens of Mark that the filmmaker's (Todd Jurgess and Jeremy Koerner being the other story crafters here) are able to say things about modern US society and culture in a way that is even at times quite humorous. When you put these show-offy "bros" in a hunting trip scenario, conflict ultimately ensues and there are more than a few well realized twists and turns along the way.
As a film, HUNTER AND THE HUNTED is a step up technically from a lot of what Fredianelli has been producing lately. There's ambitious camera work on display from cinematographer Tyler M. Manzo that gives a sense of scope and awe absent in most micro-budget indie productions. The effects are achieved practically and the use of squibs and blank ammunition go a long way in upping the film's action movie chops. Throw in a stunning car chase that rivals most of Hollywood's set pieces in the last decade and you've got a hell of a ride. Aaron Stielstra achieves high marks for a score that punctuates the film's suspenseful moments while actor Jeremy Koerner is outright terrifying as the loose cannon in the group of the hunters. Mike Dinsmore is pitch-perfect as the fanatical leader of a group of hillbilly antagonists (rivaling the inbred redneck cannibals in Fredianelli's BLACKFACE KILLER no less!) that the hunters inevitably encounter. Overall, a solid Fredianelli feature that ranks up there with THE SCARLET WORM and BLACKFACE KILLER as one of the best films in the man's body of work.
