The second she (Brooke) and her cheating land developer boyfriend (Ray) are loaded on the boat, it vanishes. Also note the giant Motorolla cell phone Ray whips out, and he's portrayed as a wealthy, immoral New Yorker, taking land from mountain folk. Was this a feeble attempt at a period piece? I don't know what year his "new" Trans Am was, maybe that was another clue. I dunno. Here's a fun one to spot: Ray gets shot in his left arm, and when he stops to catch his breath, he leans on a tree with that very same arm. Ok, I'm REALLY nitpicking here, because Death Hunt is one colossal failure.
I like this premise! A sleazy NY land developer shows up, er, somewhere in the mountains (it's implied they're in the south, but I detected Canadian accents?!), to buy up land from the locals and develop it, for, well, something other than mining (movie's real low on the details). The local corrupt sheriff pulls over he and his girl, and his redneck buddies show up to haul them off to a remote island, where they will be hunted for sport!
And, that's right about where the wheels fall off. So, the "hunters" never give their "prey" anything in the way of explanations, but it's implied, I'll give them that (well, until the ending, anyway). But these are three guys who claim they've hunted humans for 5 years on this island, and frankly, I'm given zero proof they've hunted anything but tin cans during this period. The writers, the actors, it's obvious. No one has any hunting experience, has not shot a firearm, or can even create a suspension of disbelief!
The bulk of this movie takes place on an island, 3 miles by 3 miles, and 20 miles from shore. This entire duration is such a debacle and a farce, I don't know if I can recall the sheer volume of mishaps.
Here's some highlights: The three hunters have absolutely no strategy or tactical skills. They walk around as a group(!) Yes, they don't even split up! There's one point where they discuss a tactic they've used, and it's implied they split up. Cut to the next scene where they're within 5 feet of each other. Ray comes up behind the sheriff while he's staring in another direction, hits him with a log, and steals his gun. So you get a whole lotta shots exchanged, with no real use of cover(!). Ray is killed, and for whatever reason (it's gotta be an ill-informed one), the hunters document these events with a 35mm camera (ah, another piece of the feeble period puzzle!). They have evidence convicting them of murder, AND leave the stolen 9mm with the body! 5 years, my ass.
So, they've armed the girl. The filmmakers certainly succeeded in getting a pretty face to be their heroine (Marlene Malcolm). No idea if she can act, has skills for an action movie, or even has a real personality. The writers have given her nothing to do. She wanders aimlessly, she runs, she fires her guns (yes, plural, these hunters prove themselves extremely dim). She doesn't even have anything good to say! (That goes double for the hunters. These writers have obviously never seen an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie).
At one point, she sets up a rather transparent trap... That ALL THREE hunters fall for!! One guy is severely injured, and continually screams to his friends to help him. Not to be outdone, Brooke doesn't wait for her two remaining tormentors! It would've been like shooting fish in a barrel... and ended the runtime 30 minutes early!! Ouch, who do these filmmakers take us for?
Brooke obtains a radio... and the hunters have another. Each time she speaks, they stand around and listen, going, oooohh, this can't be good! Again, ouch! Threaten her on the radio, let her know your listening, tell her you can locate her! Scare her! No, they stand and look at each other.
The sheriff gets Brooke on the ground to kill her. He delays, you know, to let her get her bearings. He fails to secure either of her arms! Big surprise, the writers wish to insult your intelligence further in this movie.
I won't even detail what an idiot the third guy is, but let's say he enables "Plan B." You know it, because he pulls out an ammo crate with "Plan B" stenciled on the top! I can't make this stuff up.
Again, Brooke needs to prove herself equally as dumb... She's got the guy wounded, just where she wants him. And I guess the writers... forgot... to inform Brooke why she was being stalked? It's made clear that she is not in on her boyfriend's scheming, or why he keeps a gun in his car. She's begging the hunters at the cabin, Why? Then her boyfriend is killed, then she doesn't BOTHER to find out! This is filmmaking at its laziest.
A word about the (SD) DVD: It's got a nice, clear picture (I could see the heroine's acne scars), and the cinematography is a highlight in this POS. The two audio tracks, however, were completely botched. In the 5.1 surround track, the dialogue is practically inaudible. Gun shots, explosions, music, great. But I need to hear what they're saying! (And I cranked my committed dialogue speaker to the max!). I defaulted to the 2.0 track, where dialogue could be heard slightly better, but there was also the occasion where I'd hear something in the rear speakers, independent of the front ones. What is happening? This whole mess is just insult to injury to me. Avoid!
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