Manhunt (2008) User Reviews

Loads of stunning makeup and effects, thus thereby utterly disgusting

[knutsindre · 4/10 · 20 April 2008]

The movie received great reviews here in Norway, and I was looking forwards to seeing it. Being a Norwegian production, I guess the critics put on their patriot pants, because this is not that great a movie.

The story we've seen before. Some young people gets captured, are hunted, with blood and gore following in ample amounts. The only thing that differentiates this movie from its many siblings is the betrayal within the group, and the charters being somewhat interesting and real. They lack depth thought, and are quite frankly not that well played or presented.

The biggest exception to this is the villains, and their behavior. Without giving any spoilers, let me just say they are a bit to evil and cold. A tad more insight into them would make the movie allot more interesting.

What does deserve praise is the visual side of the movie, with the effects especially in mind. The movie is well shot, and really drags you into it by virtue of this. The effects look so real it's frightening. So frightening in fact, that it is one of the movies greatest flaws. It's just too much.

Now, I'm not a very gentle soul, and enjoy the odd horror movie without problems, but this movie is not that enjoyable. That said, I'm sure if I went hunting moose this autumn, I'd probably not sleep very well having seen it.

Ugly, scary and outright ultra-voilent? Yes.

Exciting, interesting and progressive? No.

The Møst Dångerøus Gåme.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 2 June 2012]

The backwoods/survivalist horror genre is one of my favourites, but the films do have a tendency to follow the same formula, Manhunt being no exception. A typical example of 'doing things by the book', it starts in time-honoured fashion with four friends travelling through the wilderness in their VW camper-van (the film is set in 1974, a tribute to that classic of the genre, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre perhaps). After the predictable run in with hostile locals at a roadside diner, they do the expected thing by picking up a scared hitch-hiker, inadvisably stop in the middle of nowhere, and, in yet another retelling of The Most Dangerous Game, fall prey to a group of hunters who prefer killing humans to animals.

Despite all of the familiar trappings, this sort of thing can work very well just so long as there are regular thrills and inventive bloody kills, the protagonists are likable, and they don't behave like absolute idiots; Manhunt is suitably vicious in tone and features some reasonable splatter (although it's not as creatively bloody as I would have liked), but sadly its young victims aren't very appealing and act like morons. They constantly bicker with each other, stupidly insult the locals, and repeatedly make ill-advised decisions that only worsen their already dire situation. In short, I couldn't care less if they survived or ended up as trophies lashed to the bonnet of a Norwegian maniac's Landrover.

I've just noticed from the DVD box that the film was set in 1974

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 2 March 2012]

I was encouraged to seek this out after having seen it trailed on, I think, the Horror Channel and had the impression that it was probably US independent and most stylish. This was either a misleading trailer or a marvellous bit of editing my the TV people. This is Norwegian, not that the subtitles present much of a problem because after the set up there is not that much dialogue. The baddies don't say a word. The real trouble for me was that the youngsters are such an absolute pain that I can't wait for them to get got. It is not a terrible film and the pacing is good as are the action sequences but it just didn't take me along, I'm afraid. Shows how much attention I paid as I've just noticed from the DVD box that the film was set in 1974. I hadn't noticed it was a period piece, nor know why it was but maybe the director was saying something about youngsters in the 70s and that's why I didn't take to them. But hey, life's too short.

I like plots

[locholmez · 1/10 · 5 January 2008]

And this movie doesn't have one. Sorry.

There's the good guys and the bad guys. The bad guys are trying to kill the good guys, the good guys are trying to get out of the woods so they won't get killed.. by the bad guys. That's it.

I was sitting in the theater waiting for the amazing plot twist to reveal itself and change everything into a complex masterpiece. The story was so empty it just had to happen. "This can't be all there is to it", I thought to myself, "something amazing and unexpected will happen very soon." But it didn't. The bad guys were still doing their thing and the good guys tried to escape. Worthless.

Oh yeah, and the acting sucked.

Was pretty good

[julessimmond · 7/10 · 28 February 2009]

I think the rating for this is a tad unfair. Okay, its pretty unoriginal, and doesn't particularly contribute anything new to the genre, but there was plenty that it did right. The acting throughout was great, especially the first girl. I also liked the 70's Scandinavia feel, it really gave it a tone and an atmosphere that sucked you into its world. It had a lovely texture and aesthetic to how it looked, and I think the contrast of the dated, distressed visuals with the shocking effects and edge-of-your-seat sound design was really brilliant. Yes I must say that I usually prefer a tad more story to get invested in, but it was fast, tense, believable, and I genuinely enjoyed it! Hopefully the filmmakers have more to give than this next time around- they clearly have the technical skills for the genre, lets see what they have to give in the story department. A great debut film.

Very simple but VERY effective

[Coventry · 7/10 · 18 May 2012]

This has got to be one of the most rudimentary plotted and primitively accomplished horror movies of the (still relatively young) new Millennium, but personally I appreciated it a lot more than the vast majority of hi-tech computerized and wannabe trendy & intellectual flicks nowadays. And yes, I do realize I sound like an embittered old man! "Manhunt" is a prototypic so-called backwoods survival thriller and, moreover, a straightforwardly obvious ode to the pioneer and granddaddy of ALL backwoods survival thrillers "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The resembling plot is the most apparent tribute, of course, but director/co-writer Patrik Syversen expresses his respect and admirations for Tobe Hooper's horror landmark through a handful of minor details in particular, like for example the characters' similar minivan and the year in which the events supposedly take place, 1974, the release year of TCM. Setting the film in the early 70's has another great advantage, by the way, namely the elimination of some horrible clichés like the adolescent characters talking about their Facebook account the entire time and – most importantly – the elimination of the phrase: "I can't get a signal on my mobile phone!". Back then, girls also weren't as stupid as to go on a camping trip wearing make-up and stiletto heels, which makes it a lot easier for them to run from their assailants later on in the film. Anyways, so the year is 1974 and this quartet of youngsters – I deliberately refrain from calling them friends – are heading out to the middle of Norwegian nowhere to go camping. They pick up an extremely nervous female hitch-hiker at a roadside diner and this quickly turns out to be a very bad idea. Shortly after, they find themselves relentlessly pursued by a trio of seemingly motiveless but ultimately savage huntsmen. The biggest trump of "Manhunt" is undeniably the tense and ominous atmosphere. The film isn't just set in the year 1974; it often actually feels like you're watching a 70's flick, what with its raw cinematography and nihilistic tone. Another big trump here is the characterization of the villains. I usually prefer to know a bit about the bad guys' background and/or motivations, but the fact that they remain mysterious, vague and silent throughout the entire film here actually contributes to the gritty overall tone and disturbance level. We only know that they hunt down and set booby traps for human beings instead of animals and that they're unbelievably cruel. For example, they use barb wire to tie up their victims instead of regular rope and stab women in the back of their necks without hesitating. Needless to say "Manhunt" can be considered quite shocking and sick. I assume that the majority of the available budget went to the make-up department to buy blood and fake intestines. Money well spent, as the killing sequences are truly a horror fanatic's delight! The filming locations, acting performances and rough editing are also very suitable to the type of film the makers wanted to deliver.

Oh well...

[vegarp · 1/10 · 27 January 2008]

The story is supposed to take place in the summer of 1974, and this is where the problems start. You get absolutely no feeling of being in the 70s, the looks of the characters, their language, clothes and attitude is nothing that resemble the youngsters of the mid 70s in Norway in any way. You get a immediate feeling of being in year 2008, but the director obviously want it to be otherwise.

With such a poor beginning you lose the interest for the rest of the plot, but you continue watching for things that might save this from turning into a total catastrophe. Unfortunately the crap continues.

It goes on into a wrap of blood, gore and chaos beyond any recognition. The bad guys are super-humans in the beginning, but once the blonde starts to repel they act like a bunch of blind idiots with no structure or strategy whatsoever.

On the bright side, the effects and make-up in the movie are absolutely stunning, great actually. Very convincing, and the violence isolated from the rest are good.

But in sum, this is another failure in the line of the new Norwegian gore and slasher movies, like Villmark and Fritt Vilt. This is the definitive worst production so far, but lets take into account that this is the directors debut.

Nice Norwegian splatter!

[ebenestad · 8/10 · 28 June 2008]

Patrick Syversen and Ninni Robsahm must be the most dangerous couple in Norway. Together they transformed the harmonic Norwegian woods into a dark nightmare. When this film kicks in you can either love or hate it, but that's how it should be with this kind of movies.

The title music by David Hess(taken from Last House on the Left) sets the mood and from there on you can just lean back and get scared out of your mind. This is not the sterile dreamy and slightly funny kind of horror that we usually see these days. Rovdyr has taken back the hardcore thrill ride story telling we saw in American and Italian horror movies during the 70's.

I hope Syversen and Robsahm will continue on the route they have started because they are most interesting as makers of Norwegian horror.

A good effort that lacks in execution.

[jhpstrydom · 6/10 · 2 May 2010]

Rovdyr or as I know it MANHUNT, is the third Norwegian film I've added to my collection, the first two being COLD PREY and COLD PREY: RESURRECTION, while I enjoyed the COLD PREY movies very much, this one appeared as if it had suffered a bit.

The makers of this film had the right idea of what they wanted to do, the film was nicely shot, the make up effects were splendid but from what this film suffers from is an inability to build a sufficient amount of tension to keep people on the edge of their seat and this is not because of the lack of plot, the central characters were somewhat undeveloped, sure some of them weren't very likable but believe it or not that wasn't the problem either, the main problem with the characters is that they're stupid, because even in serious situations a complete jackass of a person doesn't have to be a complete idiot he can be dis likable at first and end up being likable at a latter stage.

Another problem is once the film gets started you can already tell where this is going making the film obviously too predictable and that is the main problem for its lack of tension, you can tell whose going to die, you can tell exactly when and where the hunters will strike, it just makes this film an uneventful horror movie experience.

Overall, bearing in mind this the director's first film, this was a good effort nonetheless but unfortunately the major flaws render it as just another cliché driven mess, my idea of a good survival horror however is one that can be as intense as possible, sadly this one isn't.

Ohno!

[Vooon · 1/10 · 7 June 2008]

I had quite high expectations after overall good reviews in the Norwegian media. And thinking of the excellent movie Villmark, and the rather good Fritt Vilt, I wondered if this was going to top them both.

First of all the acting is embarrassing. The first part of the movie is loaded with cliché dialog, overacting and awkward moments. Especially for the audience watching. The second part is generally an unmotivated slaughter with no plot at all - and very little dialog as far as I remember.

The only positive I can point my finger on is the effects and the sound. The latter is actually the only thing that might be scary, I jumped in my seat a couple of times because of the loud volume. The effects are mostly uncomfortable. On the other hand, the plot is so predictable that it's impossible not figuring out what will happen next. Which makes the movie utterly boring and uninteresting.

At last. One of my biggest problems with this movie is that you never get a clue of why things are happening. It's just unmotivated random violence, which starts out of nowhere.

I don't really recommend this to anyone, it's a waste of time. I don't understand why it received good critics at all. If you want to see a good Norwegian thriller I'd recommend Villmark.

Visually great, sadly lacking in originality

[bowmanblue · 5/10 · 1 November 2014]

I'm all for films paying homage to other 'genre-defining' movies, however 'Manhunt' doesn't so much as pay homage to its predecessors like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn, as completely rip them off.

It's about a foursome of young students who go into the mountains, only to be picked off by various redneck hunters. There's nothing wrong with that as a premise, but only if it's done in an original or slightly different way. However, it's just not. Manhunt is basically every other film of that genre, just set in a different country (oh, and there's subtitles for those of you who don't like non-English speaking films).

Unfortunately, some of the teens being stalked are completely unlikeable, one man even going as far as to practically terrorise his girlfriend and physically abuse her BEFORE the rednecks even get them. With characters like that, you can hardly work up much sympathy when they're murdered by the (real) baddies. And those we are supposed to like are just too stupid to relate to. When being hunted they never stop giving away their position by screaming for their separated friends.

Also, the film adheres to every slasher cliché in the book: chased through woods. Check. Rednecks. Check. Camper van and hitchhiker. Check. And so on.

We're never told anything about the redneck hunters and their motives. They don't even speak, leaving us to wonder why they're doing what they do.

Apart from the gore (which is very good/brutal, depending on what you like) and the cinematography (which is also nicely shot, creating a bleak and brooding atmosphere with the use of colour pallet), Manhunt will never be a classic. Just a rip-off that offers nothing new. I know I've slated it here, but actually it's not that bad. It's only real flaw is how totally unoriginal it is. Pity.

Creepy, scary, full of suspense.

[RodrigAndrisan · 7/10 · 2 June 2021]

The script is not great, all is predictable, everything we see happening has no motivation, it's just another film with violence and unjustified bloodshed. The actors' game is not at the highest level either. And yet, the film manages to captivate your attention and keep you tense for an hour and 18 minutes.

Great Norwegian survival-horror

[wickenhofer · 10/10 · 30 June 2008]

Wow, this movie is underrated by IMDb users. Just saw this again on DVD, and it still holds up. A lot of people i know really love this movie, so I'll give it a ten just to even things out.

The people who dislike it don't seem to be familiar with the sub-genre it obviously homages. Rovdyr is an exploitation-film in the best sense; a dirty, uncompromising little low-budget gem devoid of pretensions. Hell, it even has a David Hess song on the opening titles! It seems like most people expected a snappy and glossy teen-flick with lots of twists and turns, but what they got was a dirty and gritty horror-film that pulls no punches.

The films style is rugged, and it comes across as a simple and horrific survival-horror. It doesn't focus on plot, this is not a whodunnit by all means, but it's more about the exact situations the characters face and how they react to it, as survival-horrors are supposed to. As always in these films, the prey becomes the hunter and the characters find their inner strength and so on. So nothing new, but it's well done.

The actors are good as well, being both realistic and believable in the beginning, and convincingly portraying real terror as all hell breaks loose. This is actually pretty powerful stuff. It's well shot, with a dirty visual style, almost all hand-held and in close-ups throughout the film. The sound-design is top-notch, and the music by Simon Boswell (who also scored Jodorowskis "Santa Sangre" among others, another cool detail) is surprisingly serious and emotional. It's evident that the folks behind this film love the genre, know the genre and take it seriously. The effects are great and the violence is punishing too; there's some really nasty stuff here.

Sure, we've seen these types of films before, but done right it's always entertaining. It's as if someone made a shameless rip-off of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1975, without any of our modern-day influences, intending it to play in drive-in theaters. There are a few problems in the first act, and sometimes you wish they had been more original, but it's simplicity is also one of it's major strengths, so i guess it evens out.

So, this is not a flawless piece, but i liked it because it was brutal and true to its roots.

I also read somewhere that the director was just 24 years old when they started shooting it, that it was made for an extremely low budget, and that the main crew worked for very little money in order to make this film. Take that into account and it's a pretty impressive little film.

Disposable

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 30 September 2008]

Especially the characters. But it still captures your attention, because it's lean, mean and fortunately short (running time wise). Yes it's not logical, yes the characters are not likable (see above and/or summary line), yes there are plot holes ... but those are things (cliches) that you see in almost any(every) horror movie these days, it's up to you to decide how bad you think it is.

Another reviewer wrote that the whole thing seems to come from nowhere and that there is no explanation for what's happening. For one thing, I'd rather have it that way, rather than some stupid "had rough childhood(s) and this lead to ..." explanation. But if you really look for something, a reason, than the first "meeting" will give a little bit of a clue. For it's low budget heritage it's OK. Not special, but with better written characters, this could've gone a long way :o)

wasted money

[bademeister1989 · 2/10 · 25 March 2009]

oh my god, this movie sucked as hell. it tries to be like one of the good old 70 survival horror movies but fails miserably.

there is not even a bit of tension and the acting is pathetic, the so called actors try there best but it appeals so put on...

the movie reminds me of KING OF THE HILL but does not have any good soundtrack.

to be fair, the movie got some nice splatter effects and the violence looks quite realistic but at the end the movie is nothing but a 78 minutes long sadistic snuff video.

2* out of 10

So close to the edge of my seat I was standing

[videa552 · 8/10 · 17 January 2012]

Really only 5 stars? you have to be kidding me this film was great. From start to finish it kept me on the edge of my seat, I felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest.

It is quite a basic movie as are most movies of this nature, there is not to much time spent on plot as we need to build suspense and see how the reactions of the characters play out. Its a basic story of good Vs Evil set in a 1970s Norwegian woods. A group of friends travel to the middle of nowhere to go hiking and camping(what an original idea) and end up in a fight for survival. Its your usual everyday plot for a survival horror, But for what it lacks in originality it makes up for in bucket loads everywhere else. The acting is above par along with suspense and some pretty gruesome effects. Its obvious to me that the makers of this film are big fans of the genre and have stayed true to its spirit, which for another fan makes it a great joy to watch.

As I've said the acting is superb, as we get immersed deeper into the action and the dialog becomes ever more sparse we start to see the real capability of the troupe, convincingly portraying the terror of being trapped and hunted by unknowns pushing the suspense level through the roof. Henriette Bruusgaard as Camilla stands out here in the lead role who to my surprise has only played in one other role after this.

Visually it looks great, nice grainy quality to the picture along with some solid cinematography. It feels like watching something of a similar nature from the 70s which helps add authenticity to the project. From the main titles to the ending credits it feels like an exploitation movie from the heyday of the 1970s which many movies lately have tried to achieve and haven't managed to pull off half as well as this. The sound design is also very impressive and offers a great soundtrack.

I really would like to congratulate everyone who worked on this obviously they put so much effort in and it shows. I cant find any reason to complain about this movie I enjoyed it immensely and can't recommend it enough, like a gruesome flashback to the 70s this movie stays true to the genre pushing you to the very edge of your seat chewing down your fingers to nubs. So put on the oven mitts, glue yourself to the sofa and enjoy the ride.

brutal and gory

[trashgang · 8/10 · 16 January 2012]

The After Dark series gave me Prowl (2010), A flick I liked. It was directed by Patrik Syversen. I saw that he made another horror, namely Rovdyr (2008). The name says it all, it's spoken in Norwegian and came out in our country surprisingly only with French subtitles. Almost one year later over here in my native country they came out with 'Horror Collection' DVD's. And let it happen that Rovdyr came finally in my hands with the right subtitles.

If you just look at the opening sequence and the music used then you should know that it is an ode to the eighties and even a bit toward the grindhouse. Once the movie starts you get to know the characters and it took a while to knew them. It took over 20 minutes and I thought, well, this is going to suck. But was I wrong. Slowly it moves towards a creepy and even brutal horror. Oh yes, you have seen it a thousand times but just watch it. Before you know it someone is being shot without warning and another one is shot at the Achilles'tendon. From then on it is full of suspense and gory scene's. For me the ending was a bit of an open ending because what is going to happen next? You can only guess it. Will it go okay or is she in a downward spiral.

All the acting was believable. What Henriette Bruusgaard (Camilla) did was really excellent, it was her first role! I loved this movie and recommend it to all fans of good old school horror from the eighties.

Gore 4/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Brutal and criminally underrated Norwegian survival horror.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 9/10 · 22 July 2008]

Four young people travel by van through the forest grown inland of Norway in 1974.During their stay at a gas station frightened girl asks them for a lift.The driver agrees without hesitation.Bad choice!Soon the entire group is hunted and systematically murdered in the deep Norwegian woods by three crazed rednecks.I'm a big fan of backwoods survival horror and "Rovdyr" doesn't disappoint.The violence comes thick and fast and is brutal.The film is surely influenced by "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre","Rituals" and "Deliverance",but the pace is fast and the acting is strong.The look of "Rovdyr" captures well the backwoods terror cinema of 70's.So if you want your horror fast and furious then "Backwoods" delivers the gore in spades.9 out of 10.