The Head Hunter (2018) User Reviews

I See No Low Budget.

[Lilthlee · 6/10 · 9 April 2019]

This was a beautifully shot almost silent film. Fantasy Viking mission on a hunt for Troll Beast. Avenging the death of his daughter you're brought into his world. Angst, pain and you feel every minute of it the actor brings you there 100% the creators of this film knew how to use their low-budget to there advantage.

DO NOT MISS

Beautiful Scenes BUT,

[acutisnasus · 5/10 · 6 April 2019]

A man living in the woods with just one purpose, to seek revenge on the beast that killed his daughter.

A very simple story visualised in a simple way. You can either like the simplistic way it is told or not.

The Pros: Like I said, beautiful scenes, the visualisation is nicely done, some beautiful shots of the landscape and snow. I liked the idea of telling a story without much dialog, just a visualisation of some actions being taken and because of those actions you know already what is going on. The main character looked cool. You can see that a good amount of attention was given to the props. The music and sound effects are really adding to the ambiance of the movie.

The Cons: Like I said beautiful scenes but, I could not get into the story or into the tense moments that were created. And I think there were a couple of reasons that caused that.

Character

I could not feel or root for the main character, although he looked very cool. This was because of how he gave his daughter gifts at her grave. The grave is one of only 2 moments in the movie that we can see how much he loved her and therefore needed the revenge, but it felt as if it was just a matter of fact.

Lack of complexity in the actions.

In my opinion if there is lack in dialog, then the actions must make the audience think and that happened, but you could figure out what was going to happen pretty fast and that left the tense moments empty.

I liked the approach of this movie, but I couldn't get into it. Therefore I gave it a 5

not so much viking even though the beard

[ops-52535 · 6/10 · 5 April 2019]

I saw this on the SOFA-festival at åkra, and expected a bit more than delivered in this movie. its a big bearded man with big hunches on his shoulders, that reacts like a manchurian candidate everytime the horn is blown from the nearby castle. he is kind of preprogrammed to fight down ''the head'',that has once upon atime killed his beloved daughter. if he gets his revenge, well youll have to see for yourself.

its a primitive,almost neolittic kind of settings-movie, with a bonfire inside a stone house, thus having the ability of using heavy metals, there are and overtone of adrenaline kick as to kill or to be killed,through the whole movie. its cold and winterly,wet and dirty everywhere, and lots of woods. the props,and some of the effects are quite good, but youll have to let yourself into the character to enjoy the watch.

the acting are with very few words, and until he open his first phrase you would expect something ''norrøna''-styled of language to come, buuut, its just english. the main male, does a fine job on the physical level, and had scared the guts out of me if standing on my door step.

the grumpy old man has ambivalent feelings for this kinda flicks, so if you like vikings,swords and boobie-traps, then its for you. i give it a 6.

Eerie and beautiful

[sbm-3 · 20 March 2019]

What seems like a simple and straightforward revenge story turns into a surprising and uncanny tale of life and death, amidst an eerie atmosphere.

Christopher Rygh's performance is astonishing. Even though the dialogue throughout the movie is scarce, he manages to convey all sorts of emotions through his acting, and turns this "one-character-film" into an amazing journey.

In this movie, what can't be seen is often as important as what is shown on the screen. So keep your ears peeled and let yourself be drifted by the carefully designed sound and the superb music score. Allow yourself to let your imagination flow freely and you won't regret it.

Last, but by no means least, the cinematography in this movie is simply beautiful, especially when it comes to lighting and camera shots. A note also to the fantastic decor and costumes, where no detail is too small to be dismissed.

This movie may have been made with a modest budget and a small crew, but that doesn't mean its quality isn't top-notch.

I watched The Head Hunter in this year's edition of Fantasporto - International Film Festival, and I loved it so much that on the last day of the festival, when the awarded movies were being shown again, I actually went in for a second screening (I don't do that often).

I strongly recommend it! (Rating: 9/10)

A Bit Underwhelming

[Foutainoflife · 5/10 · 11 May 2019]

A medieval father searches for the beast that killed his daughter.

Ok. So, this is a low budget film but it is filmed well. Some of the landscape scenes are very nice. This is supposed to be horror but I'm a bit of a horror buff and it wasn't horror for me. The biggest problem I have is that the story is so vague. You know what is going on and you sorta know why but it lacks detail. You have no backstory and for me, that is what draws me in and causes me to invest in the characters. The effects were passable but key moments were shot in low lighting and it couldn't be seen well.

It isn't awful but it is short, extremely about being "in the moment" and the scenic shots were good. If that sounds like something you are about, check it out.

Exquisite Minimalist Storytelling

[FJWWindsor · 7/10 · 22 September 2019]

The amazing beauty of The Head Hunter is the minimalist storytelling that creates a high impact effect with virtually no extraneous dialogue or superfluous characters. The Father and his role are clearly defined as a singular, over-riding purpose; yet the Land and the Time in which he lives in is kept vague, building the larger-than-life mythology of the film. This story reminds me of the first, simple stories I read in grade school (Beowolf, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) that set my imagination on fire and created a lifelong yearning for reading.

That being said, the action fans, gore aficionados, and special effects/CGI devotees are going to be disappointed. This is a low budget film, and from the outset, it's evident the producers were more focused on the quality of the storytelling than shiny bells and whistles. If you watch the film with this managed expectation, you are going to be more apt to enjoy it. After all, at one hour eleven minutes, it's a tale that moves along nicely.

Well that was stupid.

[El_DustinD · 4/10 · 5 April 2019]

Cool (ish) plot. Solid locations. Authentic looking sets. Not much actual style or atmosphere. No thrills. Lame monster. Lame ending. This is not any kind of accomplishment for the genre.

A new standard for low budget movies

[thomaset · 7/10 · 8 April 2019]

The visuals are amazing, you wouldn't guess this movie is shot on such a low budget. Story and character is paper thin but that's kind of the point. It's not about the action but the main character and his journey. The film is indeed a horror fantasy but it also plays as a mystery, the cuiorsity of what happened is what keeps you watching. The lead actor does a phonemeal job with only his expressions and without much dialogue. The last 20 minutes are a bit of a downgrade in regards to the rest of the movie but I would still recommend. The ending will stick with you long after you've finsihed watching it. It's a monumental task to try to create a fantasy movie on a low budget since the genre requires a lot of expensive visuals but this is a more than worthwhile effort, I hope more movies are made in this style.

A disappointing snoozefest...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 17 December 2021]

Now, I was really intrigued by this 2018 dark fantasy horror movie titled "The Head Hunter" from writers Kevin Stewart and Jordan Downey, as I stumbled upon it here in 2021 by random chance. I was immediately drawn to the movie's cover and I liked the synopsis selling the movie. So I sat down to watch director Jordan Downey's movie with some expectations.

And while "The Head Hunter" definitely had a nice dark and gritty atmosphere to it, it was just lacking majorly in the story department. Sure, the synopsis made the movie sound interesting. But what transpired on the screen was not even mediocre or lukewarm. So that was a major disappointment.

There wasn't much of any real acting in the movie, so you are not in for a Shakespearian experience here, nor in for anything grand actually. The acting was scarce and limited, just as the storyline itself.

Visually then "The Head Hunter" was really nice. Lots of nice details in the costumes, props and sets. It definitely added a lot of atmosphere and nice touches to the movie. But it just wasn't sufficient to elevate the movie much, given the lack of a proper storyline.

As a life-long fan of fantasy, then I found "The Head Hunter" to be a disappointing swing and a miss. So I am not recommending that you rush out to get your hands on this one.

My rating of "The Head Hunter" lands on a mere three out of ten stars, as I was left with a great sense of disappointment and a 'was that really it?' feeling. There was just so much untapped potential here.

Gritty little gem of a movie

[daz-389-589941 · 7/10 · 22 April 2019]

This film is far better than its current IMDB rating.

For the budget this film is insane... great locations, cinematography and costume design. It's very atmospheric and at times reminded me of The Revenant, you get a real sense of the cold, harsh, isolated existence this character faces.

Like others have said its no action packed blockbuster. They clearly didn't have budget to rock out a big monster battle with CGI effects, so rather than ruin the film with a low budget attempt they made smart choices and spent the money wisely.

Nothing about this film felt low budget, the character design is amazing I would buy a hot toy figure of this dude tomorrow seriously!!

Ended up being a disappointment

[patrickspruill · 3/10 · 16 August 2020]

The way this movie started I thought it was gonna be something special.. I mean the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous.. The mysterious monsters that he face that are teased & sorta revealed.. But never get to see the actual monster until the 3rd act.. Now here is my problem: I get what the director was tryna do but the constant tease & then somewhat revealing the monster(Which was extremely disappointing & laughable) I like practical effects as much as anybody.. But this waz done horribly when they revealed the monster in action. My 2nd problem is the movie became tedious & redundant. The same thing kept happening.. Nothing compelling happened nor did it push the story forward & then it abruptly ended.. It could've been A LOT MORE but I will say the only reason I'm giving it 3 stars again because of how absolutely gorgeous the cinematography was.. The actor was really good & the first act started off strong even though it fooled me to think this movie was going somewhere

Don't be too quick to judge!! For a 30K budget I am blown away!

[mariostew · 10/10 · 8 April 2019]

I give it a 10 to balance out these 1 star ratings from people that found this movie and expected a game of thrones multi-million dollar production full of fight scenes. What you get in my eyes is different but just as gratifying. As many here have also agreed, this is a slow burn and a movie that you can throw your imagination into. The music, the story, acting and cinematography are simple and beautiful. Simple to me is a great achievment nowadays, stepping back and fully letting yourself be immersed in this vikings world, listening to the amazing soundtrack and the stunning visuals is enough to put a smile on your face. If you are a fan of art and movies you will find that this one will not disapoint. The effort and love that went into the making is noticeable on screen. You guys had me emotionally gripped the whole movie and the ending really cemented a beautiful journey. Thank you and please make more movies like this

Beautifully filmed and scary

[barrashley · 7/10 · 6 April 2019]

I really liked this movie. Beautifully filmed and great suspense. I can't understand why some people rated this so lowly. Maybe they didn't understand it. Definitely worth a watch.

If it goes to a festival it gets good reviews???

[jeffmeyer-05997 · 1/10 · 5 April 2019]

This was so slow and soooo very boring that I could not even finish it. Then I read some reviews and and saw it was in a festival and that explained some of the high ratings. Don't waste your time.

Artsy, Fartsy... Crapsy!

[davidjdoyle-140-892335 · 5 April 2019]

Pretty movie... pretty boring. Great cinematography does NOT make a good movie.

beautifully shot but ultimately disappointing

[amonteirojr · 5/10 · 5 May 2019]

Which is sad. It's rare to see this mix of horror and fantasy and I love the concept, but unfortunately the filmakers can't hide the movie's low budget long enough and the third act ends up falling apart, if the movie was more of a tongue in cheek satire maybe it could've worked better, but the tone was too serious for me to give it a pass.

Spectacular Production Design Makes me wish this film had fulfilled its potential

[Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi · 7/10 · 1 June 2022]

In THE HEAD HUNTER, the protagonist, a hulking solitary warrior scarred by the loss of his daughter goes monster-hunting whenever called upon by a nearby castle, bringing back the heads of his kills and pinning them against a trophy wall. One day, the monster that killed his daughter comes back.

At heart, the movie tells a simple story, but the atmosphere created by the production design is just so outstanding that one cannot be helped but be drawn in. Considering that this entire film was shot for about 30,000 dollars, it is incredible how much quality was put into the visuals. The movie looks better than some which cost literally hundreds of times as much.

Alas, the lack of a budget did show itself indirectly. The movie skips most of the fight scenes, showing us merely the aftermath, except for the final fight between the two old enemies, but even neat camera tricks cannot cover up the shortfall created by the lack of a budget.

If there had been enough money to stage a couple exciting fight scenes, and also a visual depiction of the backstory leading up to the daughter's death, this could have been propelled to the top of the fantasy genre. I think for fans of medieval fantasy this film is still a must-see.

For others, there is a feast for the eyes, made possible by meticuluous attention to detail and brought to the fore by large stretches without any dialogue at all. The story structure gives the ending, in which ironically the final shot is nearly identical to the opening shot, unexpected emotional heft.

I would normally give this 6/10, but it is so close to being a good film, and I can still hardly believe the shoestring budget it was made on, that I still give it the rating of a good movie.

Great cinematography does not make a great movie

[Durmey · 5/10 · 9 August 2021]

I know some will downvote this review but hear me out please.

Yes, this is a low budget movie and considering that budget they did an amazing job. The atmosphere, the music, the actor.. this is worth 10/10. No doubt about that! So I'm not saying this is a bad movie.

But no, this isn't a great movie either. Cinematography can only take you so far. At some point there has to be an actual movie and I missed that. The story ain't all that bad. I'd rate that a 6/10, but I never felt any excitement, thrill or suspense. During the movie I started swiping on Tinder, messaging a friend, I even checked Facebook on my phone... this isn't a good sign now is it?

In the end I'd give this movie a 5/10. Please check it for yourself because it is certainly worth watching and I understand why some cinemaphiles adore these kind of films, I really do, but to me the story and suspense is equally important as the quality of acting and the entire atmosphere a movie creates. I feel something was missing to really make this a memorable movie.

I can understand both the people who gave this movie high ratings, as the ones who gave it very low ratings. I think 5 or 6/10 is reasonable.

Getting a head in life

[fnord-21 · 7/10 · 5 April 2019]

I think the reviews so far are either the usual "HOLY CROW THIS WAS THE BEST EVAR!!!1!" sort of shills, or from people who just overthink things.

I thought it was a nice funky little film, and I enjoyed watching it. Oversimplified synopsis, w/ some spoilers: About a dude who hunts monsters (orcs, trolls, whatnot) on a for-hire basis for the King, and collects their heads as trophies. Some beastie kilt his daughter, and he's till butthurt about that, so he slays said beastie. And takes it's head.

As a hobby he makes a disgusting potion of regeneration, which he uses on a regular basis after his beastie-killing missions. Well, accidents happen, the potion gets spilled on a beastie head he was saving, and head comes back to life. Hilarity ensues.

Definitely worth watching. Check it out.

That's 90minutes of my I won't get back!

[sasandowlat · 1/10 · 5 April 2019]

I waited the whole movie for something to happen and nothing did.....this is not art...it's fart! Now that's poetry and art!

An Atmospheric Brilliance that Suffers On the Other Aspects of Film Making!

[SoumikBanerjee1996 · 6/10 · 17 August 2020]

"The Head Hunter" is compelling with its technicalities; an impressive Atmospheric brilliance that surely grabs your attention with every passing frame. But the same cannot be said for other aspects.

It's one of those rare occasions when a Movie impresses on the technicalities part but disappoints on the rest. Having seen many indie films before; I generally look forward to these atmosphere centric projects. That's why I decided to give it a go.

Well I'm not disappointed on the vibe front! Set in the medieval age; its unsettling imagery, claustrophobic yet beautiful scenic shots did give pleasure to my eyes. Impressive sound design does help setting up the an overall dark tonality! With its eerie, haunting treatment of the sound score does put up a lot of emphasis on the same.

Can't talk much about the performances as there is literally two person in the movie and the rest are non human beings! The main lead 'Christopher Rygh' does a commendable job portraying as a Monster Hunter. But the written material on him is as low as it could get! Lack of character study does take its toll as the film slowly progresses towards it end.

I simply couldn't establish any sort of empathy for him. Same goes for the monsters! I can't feel this guys' angst even when he's ripping their heads apart. That signifies how less of an attention has been gone into writing those characters and the storyline here. The plot raises more questions than answers! That's probably the sole reason for its downfall.

Still as an Indie movie admirer, I adore what they have done in their own set boundaries. With a little more backing up from the producers, this could have been something else.

Absolutely horrible

[bwheat-26858 · 1/10 · 20 April 2019]

I literally made an account to write how terrible this movie was. I'm not saying that because it was low budget but because nothing happens the whole movie. The trailer led to believe there would be action scenes yet there was only 1 and I would not call that an action scene. If you want to watch a movie about a guy coming and going from his house to fight monsters that you don't get to see then be my guest. No idea why anyone is giving this movie good ratings.

Solid Suspense Thriller

[dillontucker · 8/10 · 6 April 2019]

This movie is cool, just don't go in expecting full blown gory action horror - it's not that at all. It's way more of a slow burn, suspense film. So if that's your thing you'll dig it. Filmmakers did a great job building a gothic, medieval world I hadn't seen on film before. Cinematography and story craft is on point.

Laughable monster. Great camera work.

[justin-218-409647 · 6/10 · 19 April 2019]

Fans of the video game Skyrim will appreciate the atmosphere of this film. Costume and sets are fantastic. The scenery is great. But as the movie comes to an end, the low budget comes into play. Worth a watch. Only a little over an hour. Why not?

wtf!?

[mrrebel-80382 · 1/10 · 18 March 2020]

No plot at all, no explanation at all, no dialogue at all. I regretfully finished the movie in the hope that something would be explained. sadly no. these awesome reviews must be from cast or crew. you'll get more entertainment from a silent fart.