Understanding how Vincent Paronnaud’s HUNTED movie came to be is half the journey. First, you need to know who he is. Mother of Movies was already excited at the prospect of a horror movie combined with the fairytales and the bones of the “Big Bad Wolf”. Then I watched it. I had a small love affair with “Hunted”. Gone is the bedtime story of the Big Bad Wolf meant for kids.
The title is available to watch on the Shudder streaming service and premiered the cinematically boujee horror movie on January 14th, 2021.
Paonnaud is known as a self-taught all-rounder who wanted to combine the extremes and pervert the staples we horror fans all know and love. A dream I dared to ponder on many an occasion as remake after remake presented itself (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Why not more classic fairytales as horror movies? And here is one example in all its glory. With the talent of Paronnauds’ obvious musical and artistic talents peeking out within the structure of the film, Hunted is, by all means, a great new movie.
Horror Version of The Big Bad Wolf FairyTale
With an introduction made by a wise woman telling stories to her young son, the idea of having the company of wolves over that of people is presented to us.
“Once upon a frenzied time, Woman meets Man. Woman dances with Man. Man kisses woman. Man grips Woman. Woman escapes Man. Man chases Woman”
quote from Hunted – the new Big Bad Wolf retold film from Vincent Paronnaud.
You might be thinking, we’ve all seen this before and you’d be correct. I am not claiming the Hunted movie concept is a new or novel idea. But the newest feature film from French writer-director Vincent Paronnaud is a very cool and visually pleasing horror film. Is it a revenge story? Or is it a fable? Better yet, is it a creepy stalker film? Hunted is all of these things and more. It’s constructed in such a way that the fantasy element blends into the fable which then combines harmoniously with the creepy psychopathic story arc for our Big Bad Wolf.
Hey there Little Red Riding Hood. Are You Being “Hunted” in this Movie?
Lucie Debay plays a petite blonde, Eve. As she tries to relax after a busy day at work, text messages from Alex appear on her phone. She leaves her apartment, donning a hooded red jacket, and pops into a nearby bar for a mojito. A not-so-friendly douchebag appears, hitting on her aggressively. The type that then acts like Eve is at fault for being more steadfast in her rejection of his advances. As he grabs her arm, a man who had been frolicking around the dancefloor appears and “huffs and puffs and blows him away”. The two then spark up an acquaintance which turns into Eve relaxing in his company as they enjoy the bar and the music.
Additionally, the transitions, Arieh Worthalter (Sympathy for the Devil), makes between being himself and the wolf, in sheep’s clothing are subtle and unnerving. Eve realizes sooner rather than later her Valliant-friendly knight is anything of the kind but finds herself in a situation she is unable to free herself from immediately.
Once the storyline hits the vast and perilous forests, things begin to pick up. I don’t want to go into any more detail because “Hunted” really does a good job with its ingredients. Additionally, I will say one thing though. And that is, as a filmmaker if you can insert some masked paintball gun-toting military just to add the perfect splash of blue war paint to your lead actresses’ face without it looking weird or silly, you are in the right line of work.
Hunted is rated
4 spirit animal guard dogs out of 5
Where to Watch the Hunted Movie 2020
The Hunted movie is available to watch in the USA on AMC+ and AppleTV. It’s also available on Shudder in most regions.
Hunted movie Where To Watch:
Fairytales Flipped, Watch the Full Movie Trailer
Hunted screened at Fantasia on August 22nd, 2020. This was the World Premiere for Hunted. On the 19th of August, it was announced that AMC Network’s Shudder platform will be premiering this film in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. To confirm, the movie dropped in 2021, on January 14th.
- Director: Vincent Paronnaud.
- Writers: Vincent Paronnaud, Léa Pernollet.
- Stars: Lucie Debay, Ciaran O’Brien, Arieh Worthalter.
- Mother of Movies screened ‘Hunted’ as part of the official press for Fantasia Film Festivals’ massive lineup for 2020.
