‘Hunting Grounds’ Review: B-Grade Grindhouse Action With Horror Overtones
I have a soft spot for exploitation-esque action films, and it’s no great secret that I’m a horror fan. So, when I got a press release for Derek Barnes’ gritty action-horror hybrid Hunting Grounds, I said, “What the hell?” I checked it out and had a decent time with it. Now, I know that’s not a glowing endorsement, but it’s not a damning indictment, either. Hunting Grounds is an indie effort that gets just enough right to work for the right audience. The flick avoids many of the trappings to which films of similar status often succumb. The writing, acting, direction, and fight choreography are all serviceable. For a film undoubtedly made for well under $1 million, it works far better than it might have.
What Is the Basic Setup for Hunting Grounds?
Hunting Grounds follows Chloe (Emily Alatalo), a mother on a mission to protect her children (and herself) from her estranged ex-husband, a mafioso with no shortage of male entitlement and a penchant for violence. In her harrowing attempt to flee a toxic dynamic, she stows her children with loved ones for safekeeping. But before she can make a clean break, Chloe encounters a group of her sinister spouse’s henchmen who subsequently abduct her.
After breaking free, Chloe encounters Jake (Tim Rozon), a former military man who lends a hand in her time of need. Before long, however, Chloe questions Jake’s motives and starts to wonder if she may actually be better off facing the music with her hothead husband.
Hunting Grounds is tough to critique because the film is sometimes its own worst enemy. The film gets a lot right, serving up some invigorating action sequences, solid fight choreography, and serviceable performances. Yet, there are ample missteps and missed opportunities that keep it from being as good as it could have been. With that said, I hesitate to be too harsh because this project is clearly a labor of love made on a tight budget. So, to expect the level of polish you’d see from a studio picture isn’t entirely fair.
The Flick Gets Almost as Much Wrong as It Gets Right
As for what doesn’t quite work, there are a couple of things I had trouble getting past. The most frustrating might be the scene where Chloe’s no-good mafioso husband straps a cinder block to a character’s leg and throws him in a swimming pool. It’s one cinder block in an eight-foot-deep pool. The character could easily have swum down, picked up the (single) block, and swum back to the surface.
I get that the idea is to show how ruthless Chloe’s no-good husband is, and that goes a long way toward establishing that, until one stops to consider the absence of logic associated with the scene in question.
If this were my only point of contention, I might have been able to roll with it. But, I also cringed at the finale where Chloe meets her estranged ex for a final showdown. It reads like the entire exchange was aped from Kill Bill: Volume 2. I love an homage, but this felt a little too close for comfort.
My final complaint is that I couldn’t identify a point in the narrative that adequately justified Chloe’s status as an uncompromising force to be reckoned with. Is she a sleeper agent? Or did she study under the late, great Bruce Lee before his untimely demise? It’s not a dealbreaker, but added context like that helps to establish why your lead character is so profoundly good at kicking ass. Once we know that, we can sit back and enjoy without asking too many questions.
On the whole:
With all of that said, I dig Hunting Grounds. It’s a flawed film, but it’s a film that shows promise. I mean it when I say I’d like to see exactly what Barnes can do with a bigger budget. I have issues with some of the shot blocking, editing, and other technical components, yet I can see past all that and I like a lot of what I see.
If you are a sucker for an action film with gritty kills that gives horror energy, you could do much worse than Hunting Grounds. If you’re keen to experience it for yourself, you can check out the flick on Digital now via Quiver Distribution!
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Hunting Grounds
Summary
‘Hunting Grounds’ won’t win over anyone who doesn’t like action movies but may just appeal to some who do.
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