Belgian/French/Irish coproduction Hunted is a revenge thriller that riffs heavily on both Little Red Riding Hood and The Most Dangerous Game, along with a long legacy of exploitation woman-seeking-revenge films. Though the main plot beats in director Vincent Paronnaud’s feature may be quite familiar, Hunted is wonderfully stylized and bolstered by two rip-roaring lead performances.
After an opening sequence with a campfire story played out in animation that sets a mythical, mystical tone, viewers are introduced to Eve (Lucie Debay), who is stressed out from her job and her relationship. She’s on the road for a business trip in an unspecified European country and goes out to alleviate some stress at a bar, where she meets The Handsome Guy (Arieh Worthalter), who viewers are tipped off about that he has some bad things on his mind. When he and The Accomplice (Ciaran O’Brien) stuff Eve in the trunk of their car, it’s obvious that they have horrible plans for her, but a wild traffic accident sets Eve free in the forest — a place The Handsome Guy proclaims that he hates — and he and his injured accomplice chase after her. Hunted treads rather familiar genre-movie territory after that until the third act takes some wild, unexpected detours that set the film apart from much of the rest of its kind.
Debay gives a super, highly physical performance that runs the gamut from uphill forest chases to hand-to-hand combat, and Worthalter is right there with her. Both of their characters go through the wringer, and the actors make the most of it. Paronnaud and cowriter Léa Pernollet don’t give their characters a lot of backstory, but Worthaler’s creepy, evil turn as the villain is enough to despise that character, and Debay brings smarts and energy to Eve that provide sufficient reasons to root for her.
Hunted is marvelously crafted, from Paronnaud’s top-notch direction to Joachim Philippe’s gorgeous cinematography to thrilling fight choreography and stunt work. Paronnaud and Pernollet obviously try for some Little Red Riding Hood and “The Company of Wolves” (by Angela Carter) symbolism, with the results ranging from on the nose to head-scratching. Well-versed genre film fans may predict the tropes of this type of film, but the delivery and surprises it holds make it well worth a watch.
Hunted, a Shudder Original, film premieres on Shudder January 14th in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.