The Hunt | 2020 | R | – 1.8.10

Why is “The Hunt” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong bloody violence, and language throughout.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a couple of sexually suggestive remarks, and a few cleavage revealing outfits; many scenes of gory violence including headshots with blood and matter spraying, people dying by explosives with a lot of blood and matter shown, many gunfights with people struck and dying, many fight scenes with people left dead and bloody, discussions of hunting and murdering people for sport, and discussions of divisions among people; and over 80 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

---

An isolated area is host to a hunt and it turns out that the prey is human beings and they may be hunted for their political preferences. Or, perhaps not. It soon becomes unclear who the good people are and who the predatory bad people are, as individuals are picked off one-by-one. With Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Wayne Duvall, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Christopher Berry, Sturgill Simpson, Kate Nowlin, Amy Madigan, Reed Birney, Glenn Howerton, Steve Coulter, Dean J. West and Vince Pisani. Directed by Craig Zobel. [Running Time: 1:29]

The Hunt SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A man sends a GIF that shows a turtle straddling a boot as it is lifted up and then down several times (it has a sexual implication). A man tells another man, “I heard you got a girl pregnant.” A reference is made to a man having an extramarital affair and using email to discuss it. Signs with phrases like, “Stop being gay” are seen.
► A woman wears a crop top that reveals her bare abdomen and accentuates her clothed breasts throughout the movie. A woman pulls down her pants and urinates on the side of a road in front of a man (he turns away) and we hear the trickle (we do not see any nudity). A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage. | profanity glossary |

The Hunt VIOLENCE/GORE 8

 – We hear a gunshot in the distance and people in a field run for cover: a woman hides behind a crate and is shot in the head (we see the head blow to bloody bits and blood spurts on the crate and a man nearby). A woman runs across a clearing toward trees and falls in a pit; we see her impaled through the chest and leg with long spikes (bloody wounds and blood-soaked spikes are seen), a man lifts her out of the pit, they run into the tree line and the man steps on a landmine that blows them both up (we see the woman blown in half, back in the pit and cut off at the waist with her intestines and blood showing); another man tries to help her out and she takes his gun and shoots herself (off-screen).
► A man stumbles through an airplane cabin (he appears drugged), another man helps him lie on the floor and stabs the man in the neck; blood sprays all around the area and the stabbed man hits the other man in the head with a bottle, gets back up and a woman stabs him in the eye with her stiletto heel (we see a lot of blood and the eyeball and stalk when the shoe is removed with a squish). A man tries to climb a barbed wire fence and is shot in the shoulder by an arrow (we see blood and matter), he runs in the direction of the arrow shooter and is struck two more times (we see blood) and he falls to the ground and a grenade is thrown and it explodes. Two men argue, one tackles the other and puts a live grenade in his pants, and then runs away as the other man tries to retrieve the explosive; the man is blown up and we see a lot of blood and matter. A woman slams another woman’s head on a counter, shoots a man standing nearby (we see bloody bullet wounds as he’s thrown to the floor dead), and then shoots the first woman off screen as she pleads on the floor. A woman kicks the driver of a car out of the car and he falls on the ground, and the woman drives the car over his head (we see his bloody body); she later finds a dead man with a knife in his head in the trunk of the car. A man goes outside to urinate against a tree and a woman slashes his throat (we see a lot of blood in spurts). Several people in a bunker hold guns and knives and a bow and arrow when a pig slides into the room and it is shot several times (we see blood on its dead body); a woman enters the bunker shooting a man in the head (we see half of the head blown off and a lot of blood), she shoots a few other people, she stabs a woman in the abdomen with an arrow (we see blood), she fights with a man punching and kicking and she shoots him in the chest, a man runs out of the bunker and the woman shoots him in the back (we see blood), and the woman beats a man with a metal pipe several times (we see his bloody face) and shoots him (off-screen).
► Two women fight in an extended scene: one woman uses a knife, many punches and kicks are exchanged, they throw each other into counters, tables and the floor, they crash through a plate glass window, one woman stabs the other with a meat thermometer and a food processor blade, one woman pulls the other woman onto the blade and they are both stabbed in the abdomen; one woman is thrown through a fireplace knocking logs on the floor, one woman holds the other woman in a chokehold, one woman elbows the other in the face, one woman head-butts the other and they both fall to the floor (both women are left very bloody). Two men and a woman enter a remote gas station and ask for help from the proprietors and they call the police and ask for help; after eating a donut the woman chokes and dies (we see her froth at the mouth), a man is struck with a gun in the face and then gassed, and one man is sprayed with debilitating gas and as he twitches on the floor a man slams him in the face with a shotgun and then shoots the other man (we see bloody bullet wounds).
► An injured man is dragged into a room where several other people lie on the floor (they’re unconscious) and he dies. Several people wake up from a drug induced stupor and we see them with bits in their mouths (a locked strap holds the bit in place); they all walk toward a large crate in a field and one man pries one side open with a crowbar as the others scatter fearing a trap. A woman pulls a knife out of a dead man’s head and we hear a squish and see blood dripping. A woman cauterizes an abdominal wound using a kitchen torch and yells.
► A man and woman run next to a train as it passes and jump into an open car where they find several people including an infant; the train is stopped by military guards with dogs that take the people off the train and question them (we see a couple of men slammed against the train and they are referred to as refugees). A man holds a gun on a woman, then lowers it and they discuss a plan. A drone flies over a woman as she hides in trees and she watches the device until it is shot out of the air; a man walks nearby and stomps on the drone breaking it apart. A woman walks toward a car and finds that it is rigged with explosives. A man opens a large crate and a small pig walks out and runs through the field; the man reaches back into the crate and pulls out a rack of assorted weapons and a dozen people arm themselves.
► A handcuffed man with a bag over his head is led into an office and questioned. A man yells about people on a train being actors and not real refugees. A text message makes disrespectful remarks about a man and a comment about “slaughtering” people. A photo shows a man standing over a dead rhino (after killing it). A woman tells a story about a jackrabbit and a turtle and that the rabbit killed the turtle’s family with a hammer and then the turtle in the end of the story. Signs with phrases like, “Stop being gay” are seen. A woman talks about another woman having dropped out of school at 12 and that her parents both died from meth overdoses.
► A man spits out soda after his wife tells him it’s poison (she’s referring to the sugar in it). A woman is shown wearing a T-shirt that is splattered with blood for most of the movie. A woman urinates on the ground (we hear the trickle).

► LANGUAGE10

 – About 84 F-words and its derivatives, 1 obscene hand gesture in a photograph, 24 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 7 mild obscenities, name-calling (deplorables, rat face-in-chief, hick, redneck, snowflake, khaki man, N-word, gun clutching homophobes, Jew boys, Godless elite, idiots, you people, backwards, ignorant, crazy, sick, Liberal Elites, animals, monster, buddy, illegals, brutal, idealist, those people, climate change myth), exclamations (jeez, woops), 2 religious profanities (GD), 18 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus Christ, Jesus, Oh Christ, Good God, Oh My God, Heavens, Holy [F-word deleted], Thank Christ, Thank God, Jesus [F-word deleted] Christ).

The Hunt SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman refers to another woman’s parents dying of drug overdoses. A man is offered champagne and caviar on a plane and he accepts the champagne, a man drinks a glass of wine, a woman drinks from a bottle of champagne on a plane, and a couple of people are shown drinking cocktails.

The Hunt DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Inability to agree, politics, partisanship, massacres, murder, brutality, NPR, climate change, giving up, truth, cultural appropriation, conspiracies, free speech, optics, mercy, AIDS, making assumptions of other people.

The Hunt MESSAGE

 – Being deplorable is a matter of perspective.