Visual Style
For a horror films, visual style is as important as the story. And as with all films of any genre, it’s all about the location. The Hunt has been written to be filmed in very particular locations, where each location contrasts with the others, giving the film different moods depending on which killer you are with. Within each of the locations, an aspect of the film is also explored, a metaphor for normality.
The Military School
The main environment for the film is the abandoned military school in Manly. With expansive rooms, with no where to hide, to narrow corridors and creepy side rooms, it is the perfect environment for a horror film. The climax of the film runs through the expanse of the school, and one killer in particular likes to use the whole environment for herself. The Hand believes in an inner pain to effect an outer change, in her case, to cause the person she is tormenting to kill themselves. A metaphor for depression, the darkness that her victim has to struggle through, never knowing next when the pain will hit him, is something every person faces in real life.
Voyerism
The Control Room, and the Edit Suit are clinical and mechanical. Each are dominated by computer screens that show the horror of the other victims. For the Mastermind, this is his domain to study in. For Chris, it’s hell. Each presents an aspect of modern society that is all pervasive. With shows from the Biggest Loser, to Big Brother, to Survivor and Idol, the public likes to watch reality TV. But none of this is reality, it’s affected by the observer and the cameras. In the film, this desire to watch is taken to a new level. In this sense, the film shares some of it’s style with successful films like Series 7, Truman Show, and Das Experiment.
Torture
Since time began, man has extracted information from people using pain and fear. Within The Hunt, all the killers use fear, but none more so than The Inquisitor. Her world is stark, bright, no escape for either the audience, or the characters. Named for it’s resonance with the Spanish Inquisition, The Inquisitor aims to extract a confession… of something that her victim never did. This has horrifying resonance with many episodes in history, and the problems in Afghanistan and Iraq in this decade. The UN have said that only about 10% of terrorists questioned have actual links to terrorism, yet a huge wealth of intelligence is taken from them, and acted on, even though it’s debatable how this information was extracted.
The Woods
Nature is a scary thing. Flood, Fire, Wind, the list goes on, Nature is indifferent to us, and when it goes wrong, it is awesome in its power. Every child ever lost in dark woodlands knows how terrifying it is. For The Sniper’s victim, not only does she have to deal with a lunatic with a gun, but with the expanse of nature that isolates her from any external help. This environment is a horror classic. Highly successful films like Blair Witch Project, Wrong Turn, and Cabin Fever has played on this isolation to great effect.
Serial Killers
Despite being so repugnant, there is a fascination with serial killers, with such a wealth of literature being written on them. For The Knife, he is the typical serial killer within the story. Damaged mentally, he kills to satiate his desires, both sexually and revenge. His world is shadowy and grungy, a place where there is no hope for the victim. A classic ‘horror’ environment, it has been used in horror films from Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Wolf Creek, and everywhere in between.
