The Hunted

I went with this movie not knowing much about it, so when I first saw it was POV\FF format I thought "Oh boy, not again" because last movie I saw as in fact a terrible found footage movie (not to be named here).

Then I saw Josh Stewart and thought "Ok it might not be that bad".

and to my surprise, this turned out to be not only really good P.O.V. movie, but also a very effective horror movie. Even bigger surprise was "Directed and written by Josh Stewart". Starring in all those horror movies recently really payed of for Josh, because he clearly picked up few tips on what scares the people... and that's coming from a horror veteran who nearly lost all hope in new(er) horror movies for relying either on too much jump scares or too much gore, or just plain old stupid guys doing stupid things in stupid screenplays, surviving only because script said so.

The movie is about two guys, one of them being hunter Jake (Josh Stewart), the other his friend journalist Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins), who go out on private ranch to hunt animals and record it so Jake would get enough footage for his planned hunting show... Then they soon realize they are the prey and something else in the woods in hunting them.

Honestly, if you want to be surprised like I was, don't read anything about this movie. Don't even read cast listing (it gives too much).

It's has good atmosphere which is missing a lot from new horror movies, it fallows "the less is more" logic which works well for the movie, it's really tense in "night in the woods" scenes and it becomes very tense and creepy when things finally get going.

Now, Josh clearly got influenced by Blair Witch Project (maybe unintentionally) because he manages to capture similar mood of that movie (only better in my opinion) and feeling of unease while characters are all alone in the woods surrounded by pitch black of the woods.

It's a horror movie that relays heavily on the sounds, which is perfect. Think original The Haunting. You'll hear that sound and know something is there, something is right in front of the characters. Sometimes it's falls alarm, sometimes it's there.

Big thanks to Josh for not relying on jump scares too much, there are few of them, but they are not annoying like in most of modern horror movies. They are not accompanied by loud orchestra music that will pierce your ears, they come naturally and usually have good build up before it, so they are earned and you as viewer are satisfied. (first jump scare is actually really good because there's a huge build up to it)

"The Haunted" reminded me of John Carpenter's "The Thing" at one point. Josh was very effective in building up tension where most of the tension comes from expecting things to happen, just like J. Carpenter played with us with "The Thing". You knew Thing was going to pop up eventually, it was just a question when it will show up. It's a same thing here. You know it's going to happen, it's just a matter of time when it will happen.

so this reminds me, why are you still and actor Josh? You're a good actor in my opinion, but you're even better director, and horror director on top of that and all of us horror fans know we need more of those these days!

When I was a kid, we used to tell ghost stories or re-tell urban legends around the the campfire. With the advent of the "found footage" genre, we've found a whole new way to keep our kids awake all night, even camping in the backyard.

"Blair Witch" did it first. But in my opinion, Josh Stewart has done it best. The filming wasn't so obviously orchestrated as to suggest a D.O.P., but then again, this stuff doesn't just 'happen'. The editing was great and the thrill of terror and suspense was heightened by the anticipation of the next 'event' (don't want to spoil what happens).

This is a very well crafted, well presented and well produced film - unlike so many other "found footage" projects that make you wonder if maybe someone's dad bought them an editing suite for Christmas.

Next time I pitch a tent around a campfire - if I'm ever so brave after watching this - I'll bring along a laptop and share this tale. Then, spend the night in my SUV with the doors locked.

Ironically, the only thing missing in this film was an actual campfire. Otherwise, very very well done and the cast and crew deserve an 'A' for effort and an "A+" for execution.

The phrase "pretentious drivel" comes to mind. Nothing happens in this film. Let me repeat that - Nothing happens. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. If your idea of a scary film is hearing a woman scream in the woods, do yourself a favor - find some woods close to your home, go there at night with a woman you know, and ask her to go into the woods and scream. You'll waste far less time than if you viewed this pitiful excuse for a "thriller". Trust me - I LOVE horror films (and I've been a fan for 54 years, and have seen 'em all). Watching paint dry is far more exciting. The really scary thing is that there are those who think this crap is worth making. They should be ashamed of themselves. Please, please don't waste your time - there are far better films to see. Avoid this at all costs !! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!

This is far from original at all, especially when The Blair Witch Project remains the scariest film I've ever seen. That film's tension is just masterful, and I have to say that this film is able to recreate some of its ingenuity and real terror. I think the acting in this is really good and a big part as to why it's pretty effective. At times, the film is a bit too similar in its showing-less-is-more approach, but I'm glad it took that route. I wish the ending had been crazier and that it had done more, but I guess that it was comfortable just feeling safe. Overall, this isn't a necessary viewing, but it is pretty good, especially for such an indie.

Great directorial debut.

The plot is actually fairly good. Two men set out on a hunting trip filming in an attempt to start a new hunting show.

"I just hope we have enough to show the programming people what our show would look like" - Jake

Hopefully better camera work than what's showcased in The Hunted.

Frequently subjects are out of focus. Poor lighting. Extremely noisy footage. Somethings looked kinda like a poorly done green screen.

Despite the horrible camera work, I thought the movie was fairly scary. It builds tension well, the screams caused me to jump several times!

The acting was done fairly well. The dialog felt organic. The plot was great. I think this may have been a little too ambitious for the budget, or skillset.

Overall The Hunted is definitely worth the watch.