Directed by Craig Gobel 
Written by Nick Cuse & Damon Lindelof 

Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Amy Madigan, Glenn Howerton, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Sturgil Simpson, Reed Birney, Steve Coulter, Wayne Duvall. 

Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Amy Madigan, Glenn Howerton, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Sturgil Simpson, Reed Birney, Steve Coulter, Wayne Duvall.

A group of individuals awaken to find themselves in a field. They all have gags locked into their mouths, and having been given a small array of weaponry, they soon discover they are being ‘hunted’ by an unknown individual or individuals. As the body count rises, the surviving members band together to try to find who is after them and why… and where exactly are they?

The movie does seem to be more directed at ‘American’ audiences due to the strong Political undertones that the two groups of characters believe in. The conservative group who are being targeted by the liberal elitists. It is loosely based on the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.

The performances, especially from Gilpin (who I mainly know from Nurse Jackie) and Swank are worth mentioning. Gilpin’s Crystal is the anomaly in the plan, she does an incredibly convincing job at the being the survivalist.

Swank seemed to have a great time in a role that is completely different to anything she has ever played before – she also gets to flex some of the Karate Kid moves and action in a fun scene towards the end of the film. Her lack of screen time could be considered a downside, but less is always more.

I thought the movie was going to struggle a little in the second act, but this was a bit of a red herring, and the ‘arc’ here is quite short – with the action hardly dulling throughout the compact 90m runtime.

The music from Nathan Barr really brings you into the film with suspenseful tones, especially within the opening scenes – and remains present throughout. There is also a fun (and historic) soundtrack, which is itself referenced in a scene later in the film

All in all I did enjoy this movie, despite not really being able to connect to it ‘politically’ – there are some genuinely comedic moments spliced within the fairly graphic violence. It’s not for the faint hearted, but probably tame in contrast to more horror type movies.

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3 ^1/2/5