Happy Hunting (2017) User Reviews

Happy Hunting: It had potential

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 8 March 2019]

An alcoholic drifter goes on the run after upsetting meth dealers, he turns up in a small town only to find himself hunted by the locals in a sick game of cat and mouse.

Very professionally made and fantastically directed I was fairly impressed with Happy Hunting early on. The concept though not original was handled well and everything seemed to be going well.

It has pacing issues but nothing too major, the issue really comes with a pointless side story and an ending that will really quite stun you. Why? Because it's bafflingly stupid, really stupid.

Up until that point for the most part I was enjoying Happy Hunting and thought it'd walk away with a comfortable rating, alas that ending is so counterproductive it damages the film.

Such a shame, whoever wrote that needs to sit in the corner and think about what he's done.

The Good:

Very well directed

The Bad:

That ending

Happy Hunting (2017)

[SashaDarko · 5/10 · 4 January 2018]

A pretty OK survival thriller (not a horror) about a junkie / alcoholic who drives from town to town, desperately trying to find money (and also hoping to visit his daughter in Mexico?). The movie starts with him trying to scam two other junkies, which results in both of them dying, him escaping the scene and a friend of these junkies following him (along with his son or something). Then they stumble upon a town of rednecks who tell everyone about their hunting traditions, hiding that they're hunting for humans.

The kidnapped "participants" then run through the desert (close to the border with Mexico), trying to escape the rednecks who hunt them. The junkie has some tremors, visions and other side effects of withdrawal, but none of them really affect the story. The practical effects are decent, but the computer ones (like the ones they made for blood splashes) are pretty poor (especially in the shack shooting scene). The final confrontation with one of the hunters also makes no sense.

I can only agree with another review saying it's a "watchable 5 or 6", it's exactly what it is.

Creativity is its biggest strength

[jtindahouse · 6/10 · 7 January 2018]

I was very interested in 'Happy Hunting' once I found out it was directed and written by Mel Gibson's son Louie Gibson. Mel is one of the finest directors working in Hollywood today so I thought it would be very interesting to see if his son possessed any of the same talent. So does he? Possibly, it was harder to work out than I had anticipated. 'Happy Hunting' is quite a strange film. It sets out to be strange, but I think managed to be even stranger than intended and in unintended ways. I would say I enjoyed it, without loving it.

There's a point halfway through the film where you will likely ask yourself how are they going to stretch this out for another 45 minutes? They manage it though and while I wouldn't say the pacing of the film is its strongest point, it's not a bad effort considering the way the film is set up. I also liked some of the creativity used in certain scenes. This is the main indication to me that Louie Gibson might have some real talent because creativity in film making seems to be the thing most directors struggle with today. It is sorely lacking in many modern films, however not this one. I wouldn't call this a "must-see" but if you stumble across it on Netflix it's worth a watch and you'll get basically what you're promised.

A town we don't want to visit.

[wmichael-42425 · 5/10 · 23 March 2019]

Its strangely entertaining to watch, but at the same time god dang awful.

There's just some strange creepiness n hypnotism about horror movies set in the deserts.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 15 March 2018]

I am writing a review of this film again as my old review got deleted somehow. So this time i will make it a short review. Saw this on a dvd. As a fan of survival movies especially set in the backwoods, deserts, outback n snowcovered land, i enjoyed viewing this. I love movies set in the Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan.

This movie has less body count n a bit slow pacing, but the overall product is pretty enjoyable for genre fans. Of course, the plot once again lifted from The Most Dangerous Game.

Passable but that's all

[romneymeredith · 4/10 · 4 January 2018]

The cinematography was fine, I liked the actors just fine but the entire plot strained credulity with the concept of an entire town holding an annual hunt of human beings for 'tradition', and with the incredible collection of losers there were all able to have never leaked this to the outside world. But let's accept the premise - the 'hero' is a massive loser, a junkie and a severe alcoholic, who somehow survives the desert without ANY water, with severe alcohol withdrawal, getting stabbed deeply with a hunting knife (with no shock and suprisingly little blood), having his ankle caught in a bear trap yet still shockingly mobile after this, and finally getting stabbed a second time. The inanity of this is what really turned me off on the movie - I can suspend a lot of belief but I can't suspend my sanity to accept what this guy was able to do.

Pretty fair retelling of a classic story trope with enough inventiveness to keep it fresh

[lemon_magic · 7/10 · 9 October 2018]

All right, so this movie doesn't pretend to be anything more than another version of "The Most Dangerous Game"(although the premise has a fairly inventive twist to it (the entire town is in on the action, which brings in the feel of "Two Thousand Maniacs"), and the protagonist isn't especially sympathetic or even likable. I can live with that in light of the extremely well done camera work and set design and some very good set pieces and visuals that are completely justified by the nature of the story.

I thought I recognized an actor or two, but this seems to be a cast of relative unknowns. Everyone here does whatever it takes to get their character over, so that's a plus. No one stood out, but no one sucked either.

Adding severe alcohol addiction (bad enough that at points he has to filter ethanol out of hand soap and drink mouthwash straight from the bottle to avoid a withdrawal bad enough to kill him) to the "hero's" problem ups the ante even further, but amazingly this isn't overdone. Whatever the hunted man's character flaws, he isn't a quitter, and I found myself rooting for him more and more as he fought through drugs, wounds, injuries, withdrawal pains, overwhelming odds and nasty, nasty sociopaths trying to kill him without complaint or self-pity. He even tries to help his fellow "prey" survive, although they all fall victim to sniper fire etc.

There are some effective acting choices, and some intelligent and amusing character quirks on display. The desert landscape and eroded, poverty stricken town-scape are other characters in the story which both adds energy to the movie and keeps the nihilistic bent of the plot from becoming too oppressive.

The overly cynical and bitter denouement cost the movie a star, but I put that star back when I witnessed the "hero's" final reaction to his fate.

For what it is, "Happy Hunting" is very good. If you are in the mood for a variation on "The Most Dangerous Game" (or even "Two Thousand Maniacs"), you may well enjoy it.

the most dangerous game

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 5 December 2022]

Druggie loser Warren Novak needs to go to Mexico to meet his child. He gets involved in a drug sale which goes terribly wrong. He runs away and finds himself in a small town near the border. He and other troubled souls are taken captive by the town. The town is reliving their hunting traditions and they're hunting the most dangerous animal.

I don't care that much about Warren. The drug sale is very memorable, but there isn't much else. The premise has been done plenty. This is not doing something completely new. Nothing is really exciting me, but it's not horrible. I feel a bit bland about this.

Original concept? Absolutely not...still, a watchable 5 or 6...

[mariusar · 6/10 · 26 September 2017]

This review is a direct response to JvH48's needlessly glowing review of Happy Hunting. With all due respect to the Netherlands, this person has either written one of the very best "shill" reviews I have yet encountered here on IMDb or is simply someone who has not yet seen nearly enough films of this specific type. Perhaps some benefit of the doubt is required for pretty much everything JvH48 asserts...

Let's get one thing straight immediately: the core concept of Happy Hunting is absolutely NOT "an original plot" in any way, shape or form.

Other than the very basic rationale for the game itself (punishing those deemed wayward, criminal or individuals with certain addictions), the actual core cinematic concept Happy Hunting explores goes at least as far back as 1932's classic film The Most Dangerous Game. Since then, the basic premise of humans hunting other humans has been examined countless times in nearly all genres of films including horror, drama, thriller...even war films.

Hell, even Jean Claude Van Damme covered this concept in Hard Target.

That out of the way, Happy Hunting is still a mostly watchable film. Fairly competent performances all around and yes, some of the (less gushing) observations from JvH48 about the main character's struggle with his addiction while being pursued is indeed reasonably well presented.

Add to that some occasionally interesting visual imagery of the stark, desolate desert landscape the film takes place in along with a straight-ahead plot - co-director Louie Gibson (yes, Mel's son) has turned in a decent effort here. Nothing exceptional at all but still a good turn and an acceptable start to a budding career.

So, a straight-forward entry into the oft-explored "Most Dangerous Game" genre, Happy Hunting gets a solid 5. Extra credit up to a 6 however for the film's visual in the final 10 minutes of something that is quite prevalent in 2017 America's consciousness, especially with the current "administration" occupying the White House.

Watchable

[dar0417 · 5/10 · 5 May 2020]

Had some solid scenes and a decent story with some blood but just wasn't that fun to watch. Should have been better.

The Horror genre label may be misplaced, so also a good watch for fans of other genres. Splendid casting and acting, in addition to original plot and unexpected developments

[JvH48 · 8/10 · 7 July 2017]

Seen at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2017 (website: www.bifff.net). Starting with an original premise, it has even more original developments in its favor. Of course, the prey has slim chances to survive as per the initial setup of the hunting "game", yet it takes some time for the villagers to learn that the prey this time does not give in so easily as in previous years. In a series of scenes, switching from prey to prey, one falling after the other, yet this time with victims on both sides. Luckily for us viewers, it all went differently from previous years. Alcohol plays an important side role, primarily (of course) for main character Warren throughout the running time, but he also makes productive use of alcohol near the finale.

Entertaining throughout, apart from Warren's alcohol addiction and related cold turkey phenomena, and despite the unnecessary violence, the latter not shown in all gory detail yet suggested with not much left to outguess. For example, when someone's head is beaten with a baseball bat, the movement of the bat is clearly shown but not the ultimate effects on the receiving end. A concession towards content advisory ratings?? It won't help, as the whole movie is riddled with unmitigated violence all over. But it is not Horror in the old-fashioned and literal sense of the word, so no dark corners nor ancient buildings, no monsters nor ghosts, only ordinary (yet redneck) people operating in broad daylight (or some at night) with destructive intentions.

All in all, casting and acting make this movie stand out in the first place, in addition to the original plot with many unexpected developments.

There Are Bad Men Everywhere.

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 7/10 · 19 May 2020]

Okay I wrote a medium sized review and tried to submit it and the internet froze up and it apparently got lost so that is lame.

So not writing that again so long story short.

I liked it. End was good! Chris was a great character. Haha. 7/10

Ridiculous....or is it?

[flowersimon · 4/10 · 13 January 2021]

Gun toting rednecks on a kill crazy rampage- the occasional riot or manhunt is surely their right under one amendment or another. No? Unbelievable in this day and age. Silly movie with a sheriff not just apathetic but complicit and orchestrator of the redneck sporting event. Federal law - nah don't recognise it. Just choose your victims and hunt em down. I mean....they got a head start so that seems fair. Ridiculous right? Right? Capitol idea - let's do it. Oh...you did already.

Just updated my worst movie

[doruksen1 · 1/10 · 13 January 2021]

Nothing good to see in that. Total waste of time. Save yourself, move on.

Okay telling of an old formula

[Wizard-8 · 6/10 · 28 January 2018]

It seems that as long as B movie will be made, there will always be people churning out rip-offs of the classic Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Actually, I can understand that, because even after so many decades of this old story being rehashed, it is still an irresistible premise. And I have seen over the years some pretty good cinematic tellings of this premise, from "Raw Courage" to "Surviving the Game".

As for THIS particular telling, it is neither one of the best tellings or one of the worst tellings. It is a competent telling, nothing more or less. There are some really good things about it here and there. For what wasn't a big budget, the movie looks very nice, from the good cinematography to some well chosen locations, together which make some stunning visuals at times. There is also a very effective seedy atmosphere; you can really feel the dust, grit and poverty of this environment. The movie is also interesting in that the so-called hero isn't completely likable - he is a killer, drug pusher, and an addict. The addict side of this character does bring some interest, in that the character has to somehow satisfy (or fight) his addiction while he is being hunted.

There are also some good action sequences, exciting and bloody. However, the stuff between the action moments is where the movie is weak. Between the action sequences, the movie is often slow and ponderous instead of managing to grab you by the throat and throw at you non-stop tension. The opening 30 minutes, setting up the situation, will also likely throw off some viewers because of how uneventful it is. Also, while I didn't really object to the ending (which I will not spoil), I do see that it will anger some viewers.

Weighing the good with the bad stuff, you end up with an okay rehash of this old formula. If you like this formula and don't mind seeing it again, you will probably find this movie watchable - certainly better than some other tellings. It's not bad, but it could have been fine tuned somewhat before filming started.

Good Idea That Turned Stupid

[pdbordelon · 3/10 · 9 August 2019]

Yet another movie that kinda had a good plot idea (though admittedly its been done much better 100 times before) but then the writers either ran out of ideas, money, and/or ingenuity and the ending just leaves us unsatisfied with some thinly veiled "political leftist anti-American commentary" that quite frankly is more offensive than anything any right-wing nut could ever devise. Anyway, it has its moments, but I'd skip this one.

Pretty savage and dark.

[Pairic · 7/10 · 7 January 2018]

Happy Hunting: Following a drug deal gone wrong , a drifter suffering from drug and alcohol withdrawal tries to go cold turkey in a desert town. Pursuing pushers catch up with him but this is no ordinary town: it's Deliverance in the Desert. Every year the citizens hold a special hunt: outsiders and local ne'er-do-wells are the prey.

The captives are let loose in the desert with a head start. As dawn breaks the local rednecks set off in pursuit, armed with sniper rifles, crossbows, shotguns and even a Negan style baseball bat wielded out of a car window.

Pretty savage and dark. 7/10 (On netflix.)

Even the poster is a ripoff (of Blue Ruin)

[benhatcher · 1/10 · 4 September 2020]

When you're too lazy to do something original, this is what you end up with

There ain't no party like a Southern Redneck Hunting Party!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 6 September 2022]

The "hunting humans for sports"-formula is one of the oldest, yet most consistent formulas in horror, cult, and exploitation cinema. This thrills-guaranteed sub-genre delivered a landmark classic already 90 (!) years ago, with "The Most Dangerous Game", but also still very recently, with Craig Zobel's "The Hunt" in 2020. And during the in-between period of nine decades, there were several more highly enjoyable and often downright eccentric variations, like "Blood Camp Thatcher" (1980), "The Hunting Party" (1971), "The Woman Hunt" (1973), and "Surviving the Game" (1994).

"Happy Hunting" is a nicely fitting addition to the long but pleasant list. It's not exceptionally good or highly memorable, but it does feature the obligatory excessive violence, loathsome characters, and creative death-traps. What makes the film slightly special, perhaps, is that it blends the hunting-humans concept with another traditional cult/horror sub-genre, namely that of the "creepy little town with a secret". The hunting game is presented as an annually returning festive event at a remote Texan border town called Bedford Flats. The sneaky locals, led by the authorial Sheriff, round up dubious passers-by and even their own misbehaving fellow town members, and let them loose in the desert with a small head start. In this year's edition, the alcoholic drug-addict Warren Novak, who was already on his way to Mexico for some vague reason, is the only participant capable of fighting back.

The first half is slow and rather tedious, notably because protagonist Warren Novak is a very anti-sympathetic character himself. You don't really care for his motivations to travel to Mexico, and his constant mumbling whilst drinking heavily makes the dialogs difficult to understand. The fact he's such a thug makes the actual hunt more exciting, though, since you don't really care who wins. Both the hunters and the preys are total scum, so as long as the bloodshed is outrageous & plentiful, it's perfectly fine!

Horrible movie

[Neptune165 · 1/10 · 6 February 2022]

An alcoholic passing through a crazy town called Bedford Flats where the local sheriff's idea of cleaning up his town of riff raffs is to host a hunting party. He was grabbed along with a few others and they were given a head start before the hunting party began. The main hero starts to have withdrawal from his abuse of alcohol and he was doing everything he can to control himself while being hunted by a town full of crazy people. His main purpose was to cross into Mexico. Eventually he has to fight the villain in the movie who carries his wife bat that was killed the hero. The villain is a suburban dad version of Negan who also has a drinking problem. At first, i thought i would like this flick, but it wasn't good and I don't recommend watching it and sticking with somthing else better. Trust me.

Makes The Hunger Games look like futuristic child's play

[msmetallica · 8/10 · 28 September 2017]

I have never felt compelled to write a review before but this film has. I wouldn't classify this film as a horror genre more like an Action/Horror and in that order. Action as it is always moving with action styled scenes and horror in the fact of the horror of being hunted down by a bunch of strangers. This is is how you do a low budget film. It shows you do not need tons of blood and gore and suspense to create a great film (although it will satisfy most blood lusts to a point). The acting from such unknown actors is above par and the concept is (although the idea of hunting others for sport has been done) original and well written. It is a believable idea and was executed brilliantly. I have watched most of the horror films to come out this year and was left disappointed and wanting more yet this film although not technically horror has left me with the feeling at least there were some films that made it this year. It is truly a film worth watching considering it didn't need to resort to elaborate special effects and lots of sex. In fact the effects are minimal and there is no sex at all. All in all a great film to watch, just a shame it did not get the theatre time and recognition it deserves.

My Theory: The Movie Take Place in The Purge Universe

[HadiAriyan07 · 7/10 · 25 September 2020]

Happy Hunting is a film that has some brutal kills, good effects, and interesting performances. It has a story that feels familiar but still manages to have a few twists and turns that are surprising. The movie that has it all; social commentary, horror, and intense bloodshed. This film even has a character that many people suffering through addiction can relate to, and maybe even learn from. I really believe that the movie is part of The Purge universe, the events take place specially after the events of The Purge: Election Year.

Another hit for instant viewing...

[lorddrewsus · 7/10 · 21 August 2019]

I get that people may think Purge trilogy, but like most good things, it has similar ideas. This is different though, in a few ways. I'm not sure which is worse; being hunted down until death, or being in withdrawals while being hunted. Some good gore scenes, and a very cool story line, even if some of the themes aren't realized. I have to say, if you use Netflix, you should watch it, if it's on there. That is how I viewed it. People should see the glorious cinema that this is. Flash backs, lighting, cinematography, effects, acting. It's the full package. Weird music, though. Kind of funny at times too.

A movie which definitely deserves more than its current IMDB rating of 5.1

[ataman-seferoglu · 8/10 · 15 October 2023]

A movie which definitely deserves more than its current IMDB rating (5.1 when I wrote this review). I also find it hard to say that this movie is in horror genre. I'd call it a neo Western with some drug and redneck moments.

It's ironic an Aussie and a Brit play leading roles in a movie which gives us a glimpse of redneck sporting activities in a a Western setting.

The lead, Martin Dingle Wall reminds us of Bill Paxton. It's sad to note that I watched this movie on13 October 2023, 3 days after Ken Lally passed who plays the main bad hombre.

Our protagonist Warren goes a mandatory cold turkey as he scrambles for his life chased by an angry redneck and then by a town-full of rednecks. Warren goes McGyver when he turns some kitchen items into alcohol. Though, in a previous scene he'd shot a bullet with his bare hand and a knife. The finale's nice when Warren realizes what an illegal immigrant told him before that there's bad hombres on the other side of the border and he literally dies laughing.

BATTLE ROYAL meets HAPPY HUNTING

[artgore · 9/10 · 19 December 2019]

Wow this film really blowed me away. Fresh and brutal, highly recommended