The Hunt trivia: 42 facts about the new horror film

The Hunt is a new American horror film. The film was postponed because of critism about its subject.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the film.

1. The Hunt is an upcoming American horror thriller film
2. It is directed by Craig Zobel
3. It is co-written by Damon Lindelof
4. The film is based on the 1924 short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
5. The film stars Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, Emma Roberts and Hilary Swank
6. Jason Blum serves as a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner
7. Both Zobel and Lindelof have said that the film serves as a satire on the profound political divide between the American left and right
8. The film was originally scheduled for release on September 27, 2019
9. However, following the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings in early August 2019, Universal Pictures decided to shelve the release of the film
10. The decision came a day after criticism regarding the film came from United States President Donald Trump
11. The Hunt has since been rescheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on March 13, 2020, by Universal Pictures
12. In March 2018, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the film, which would be directed by Craig Zobel with a script from Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof.
13. The original title of the script was Red State Vs. Blue State
14. This was a reference to the red states and blue states
15. Later, Universal issued a statement denying that the film had ever had it as its working title
16. The elite hunters’ reference to their quarry as “deplorables” is an allusion to the phrase “basket of deplorables”, used by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 United States presidential election campaign to refer to supporters of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump
17. An early draft of the script depicted working-class conservatives as the film’s heroes
18. In March 2019, Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Glenn Howerton, Ike Barinholtz and Betty Gilpin were announced as being cast in the film
19. In April 2019, Amy Madigan, Jim Klock, Charli Slaughter, Steve Mokate and Dean West joined the cast of the film
20. Hilary Swank was announced as being cast in July
21. Filming began on February 20, 2019, in New Orleans
22. It was completed on April 5
23. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that there were a pair of test screenings for the film which had “negative reactions”
24. The second screening was held on August 6, 2019, in Los Angeles, in which “audience members were again expressing discomfort with the politics” of it, an issue Universal had not foreseen
25. In a statement to Variety, Universal pushed back on a report that test audiences had been uncomfortable with the film’s political slant, and also countered claims that the script had originally had a politically explosive title
26. “While some outlets have indicated that test screenings for The Hunt resulted in negative audience feedback, in fact, the film was very well-received and tallied one of the highest test scores for an original Blumhouse film,” a Universal spokesperson said
27. “Additionally, no audience members in attendance at the test screening expressed discomfort with any political discussion in the film. While reports also say The Hunt was formerly titled Red State vs. Blue State, that was never the working title for the film at any point throughout the development process, nor appeared on any status reports under that name”
28. Prior to the film’s initial shelving, the film attracted criticism from some of the media as an alleged portrayal of liberal elitists hunting supporters of Donald Trump
29. Trump issued a tweet on August 9, 2019, calling “Liberal Hollywood” racist at the highest level”
30. Writing: “The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos”
31. Adding “They create their own violence, and then try to blame others”
32. Although Trump did not specify the name of the film, news vehicles believed that was most likely a reference to The Hunt
33. Some commentators, such as columnists for The Atlantic and The National Review, argued that the film actually had a right-wing, anti-liberal tone that was misinterpreted by conservative critics of the film
34. In the United States and Canada, the film will be released alongside Bloodshot and I Still Believe
35. It is projected to gross $8- 9 million from 2,500 theaters in its opening weekend
36. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52%
37. Based on 62 reviews
38. With an average rating of 5.52/10
39. The site’s critics consensus reads: “The Hunt is successful enough as a darkly humorous action thriller, but it shoots wide of the mark when it aims for timely social satire”
40. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100
41. Based on 31 critics
42. Indicating “mixed or average reviews”