Night of the Hunted (2023) is a horror movie directed by Franck Khalfoun. The movie centers around a woman who gets stuck in a gas station with a sniper outside watching her every move. Below is my Night of the Hunted (2023) movie review
There is nothing that happens before the woman gets stuck in the gas station. In fact, not much happens after she gets stuck in there. She is traveling with another person, but we all know what happens to him very early in the movie. Once she establishes a communication with the sniper, things don’t get any more interesting. Not only does it get very repetitive, it also gets boring. She starts to beg and even agree with the killer in hopes of getting out alive.
The killer is a boring caricature of a man who is deeply into conspiracy theories. He spews things regarding drugs killing people, mask mandates, and the whole jab mandate, among others. The woman tries to plead with him and he keeps repeating that she is not any worse than him. This is due to her being a pharmaceutical rep. To be honest, it is very cliche with a half hearted attempt at social commentary that brings nothing new to the table. Just imagine a person reading all of these things we experienced during COVID that every conspiracy nut out there talked about every day on their social media. That’s the jist of the movie.
During this time the woman tries to think of ways to go outside. However most of these things are borrowed from other movies. Nothing was new and some of her decisions such as not running into woods and running into her well lit car is a reason why the protagonist is stupid. On top of that she is also not a good person and the ending does not really redeem her. She is a b*tch and her attitude is unbearable. She cheats on her husband and also makes it into a “gender” issue. What’s the point in watching a movie where a protagonist is unlikable?
Anyway, this movie is complete trash. Characters are not likable or have a good background, action is very limited, kills are limited and not unique in any way, and the setting is in a gas station that gets pretty boring early in the movie. The message of the movie is very heavy handed with a half assed attempt at social commetary on recent few years (especially in years of covid) that does not say anything new. Think of it like I am saying “covid vaccines kill” without saying anything else. It’s not saying much if I just say it without backing it up with some sources. However, the killer literally goes on to mention MANY such claims without having much of a commentary. It’s pointless, along with the rest of the movie.
Do me a favor and watch Splinter (2008), Phonebooth (2002), and Downrange (2017). Most of these movies have snipers but there is also tense action and a setting that makes characters think outside the box in order to escape.
Thanks for reading my Night of the Hunted (2023) movie review
