31 Days of Hell: Blood Hunt (2017) - Reviewed

We're kicking off this year's 31 Days of Hell with a review of 2017's horrifying revenge flick, Blood Hunt. 

Borrowing heavily from the vengeful themes we've visited time and time again in stories like I Spit on Your Grave and its multitude of rebooted sequels, this horror flick ramps up the violence in another rape driven tale that sees a city bred couple tortured and penetrated by a band of roving rednecks. When the central character turns her nose at the advances of a sweaty Australian psychopath, the stage is set for a game of cat and mouse that's extremely real in its nastiness and representation of folks that need to defend themselves against a morally bankrupt trio of violent freaks from the outback. Easy comparisons can be made to 2008's Eden Lake starring Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly, although Blood Hunt is never quite as tense or visceral as that modern classic. 

Where this one totally succeeds is in its bevy of believable actors. With little to no budget, director Sam Curtain proves that a lot can be done when you have the talents of a cast that knows how to push themselves to the limits. Throughout a nasty sexual assault scenario, brutal beatings, numerous stabbings and complete carnage, the two main leads played by Dean Kirkright and Kahli Williams both render completely believable performances. The scumbag terror inducers as equally as frightening with no respect for human life whatsoever. Luckily enough for viewers, even with all the nastiness taking place on screen, it never shows too much and doesn't engage us in repeated sexual assaults. Once is enough. It gets the point across. Sometimes repetitious rape scenes can be way too much to bear especially when the movie is supposed to be based in our real world. 

 

Yes, we've seen this before. The story has been told time and time again throughout the decades. A man and woman must survive against all odds while facing down blood thirsty killers and mother nature's wrath. The one thing that really works for Blood Hunt is the way it's shot. It's not found footage horror and it's not presented in a documentary style either. But the way the camera works and moves naturally really makes you feel like you're part of what's happening on screen. It gives the movie a hyper realistic feel, even when some of the story and editing don't quite add up. As a fan of vengeance flicks and exploitation, this one really mails it home. 

For fans of this sub-genre, Blood Hunt definitely takes its initial plot ideas from the aforementioned I Spit on Your Grave, but truly fits in the same catalog as 2018's Revenge, The Last House on The Left or even possibly the original Death Wish. As close as Curtain comes to matching the style of those previous works with a movie that pays tribute to in a multitude of ways, Blood Hunt tries a few original things with the subject matter that work really well. It might not be the best of the bunch, but it's a great way to kick off the month of October. Check this one out. But be warned. If you're squeamish about women being violated on film, this might not be your bag.

-Chris George