The producers of The Hunt are hoping that a few of you out there have seen, and enjoyed, director Fritz Kiersch's 1984 adaptation of Stephen King's Children Of The Corn (I had some fun with it, but I'm in a minority) in hopes you'll give their horror/sci-fi flick a look. In fact, they're using it as a main drawing point on the box cover. I'm thinking most of us won't use that as a reason. However, if you've been drawn in by the somewhat intriguing artwork (or, like a good B-movie geek, are in fact intrigued to see another movie by Kiresch), then The Hunt makes for an okay "Blair Witch Project with aliens" type of flick.

Wanting to add a level of "realism" to the proceedings, Kiersch opts to use various camera angles and footage to make it look like the characters in the story are filming things as they happen. It's an old trick now, but it does manage to give the movie a few okay moments. They also try to pass the story off as being based on true events in the final credits, but I'm not buying it.

Jack (Joe Michael Burke) decides that in order to bond with his new stepson Clint (Mitchell Burns) he's going to drag the youngster out for a weekend of hunting. Seems Jack has big dreams and wants to actually make a "stalking" video (where you hunt your prey using a bow and arrow instead of a gun) that he intends to sell to Wal-Mart in hopes of creating a series of tapes about his favourite pastime. Along for the ride is his friend, and professional cameraman, Atticus (Robert Rusler, who was "Grady" in the second Nightmare On Elm Street movie) who has quite the chip on his shoulder - as is proven by scenes that attempt to make the character a real "hard ass" as he talks nasty into the camera and is constantly drinking and looking mean.

After renting a controlled hunting ground for the weekend, our trio heads out to the site and along the way run into a freaky diner owner as well as a hunter who apparently has nothing much to say apart from telling them that they're in for trouble. From there we see as they try to track down a dear while at the same time a sub-plot featuring Cliff De Young as Clint's birth father plays out in which he's supposed to be investigating their disappearance (as their footage is meant to be flashback).

From there The Hunt doesn't go anywhere fast as the first hour plods along with not much happening in the way of scares (ooo, there's a few odd sounds!) as there's some weak, unbelievable, tension between Jack and Atticus, they find an odd clearing filled with humming devices and mounds of a salt-like powder in a fenced off area they ventured into and there's so-so attempts to flesh-out the "parental bonding" between our step dad and his new son. Yeah, it's pretty much more of a drama focusing on hunting than a genre flick for a good portion of its running time.

We never once feel like our main characters are in much danger, even when they find themselves surrounded by unseen men on ATV's (who ride off without doing anything!). And as far as I'm concerned, pushing a camera quickly through some trees doesn't create much tension either. Heck, even the weak Most Dangerous Game twist in the finale that gives the movies it's extra-terrestrial twist only manages to give us some very mild suspense (and gives the movie some really cool looking alien creatures - too bad they're barely in it).

Still, The Hunt isn't as bad as some of the stuff that's crossed my path. It has a few okay moments and the brief alien effects are good, it's just not that interesting or thrilling and it, at times, feels like a big ad for Wal-Mart considering how many times the retail chain gets mentioned by the main characters. Basically, this is just a forgettable time, and pretty passable at the same time. (Chris Hartley, 5/21/07)

Directed By: Fritz Kiersch.
Written By: Jonathan de la Luz, Danny Martin, Fritz Kiersch.

Starring: Joe Michael Burke, Cliff De Young, Robert Rusler, Mitchell Burns.

Picture Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: The transfer here is clean and free of defects. It's not a sparkling looking picture, but it's decent considering that a lot of the fuzziness and jumping in the quality is intentional by the makers of the film.

Extras: There's not really much for us here as we get a trailer and a fairly skippable featurette entitled "The Hunt Chronicles" that looks at the making of the movie.