"The wolf is back..."

Hunter Hunter is the third film by writer director, Shawn Linden and... let me tell you, he is one to watch. HH is a slow burn with a magnificent payoff. Utilizing a cast of less than 10 named characters, Hunter Hunter manages to be gripping, intriguing, isolating, and confined even if at times you have to suspend your disbelief.

Hunter Hunter tells the story of a family living in the middle of nowhere, doing their best to survive. When checking their traps during one particularly sparse season, they notice signs that a wolf has returned, thus threatening their meager earnings even further... But wild, hungry creatures are not all the woods hide in these parts...

The film is a technical achievement to say the least. What Shawn, cinematographer Greg Nicod, and composer Kevon Cronin have managed to do with the way the story is told through the camera and score is absolutely wonderful. This is not a film you'll walk away from and say "wow wasn't that score amazing?" It's not one that I'll rave on about how the score was "a character just as much as the actors themselves". But that, that simplicity, is its perfection. You won't remember what it sounded like, but you will remember how it made you feel. None of the music felt out of place, too loud, too quiet, or anything in between; it told the story exactly how and when it needed to.

The cinematography is top notch and strongly redolent of Gladiator with it's bravery in playing with the shutter speed across the entire film. In emotionally intense scenes, the action suddenly gets sharper, more crisp and jerky. It's an unsettling technique that draws us into the action and isn't often used in more commercial films; making it even more poignant here. Even in basic shots, the color pallet of the film is consistent and engaging — angles help to tell how our characters are feeling or how we should feel about them, and shots are framed in precise and intentional ways.

HH is not without its flaws but I don't want to hang on them too much. This was a small production from a fairly new crew, and for that, it's nearly perfect. But, to be critical for a moment, it does have some quirks. Some of the characters make decisions that don't entirely make sense, a few lines of dialogue are a little wonky, and a conflict setup very early on in the film not only doesn't go anywhere, but is meaningless to the plot in its entirety. Those things aside... I want to talk about the storytelling itself.

Hunter Hunter is not going to be a film for everyone. As exemplified by it's ratings, it's something of a polarizing film. The subject matter isn't something everyone will find interesting, and many won't make it through the slow burn of the plot to get to the ending that makes it all worth your while. Then again, there will be some that get that far and just don't care. Even in those cases though, the storytelling itself of HH is fantastic and should be absolutely commended. This film manages to tell four or five different stories all at the same time with an incredibly small cast, connect them, bring them together, then resolve them all without undo exposition or hand holding. One scene in particular features an absolutely brilliant piece of writing that shifts the perspective of the entire film, but only if you're really paying attention.

At 1:33 runtime, Hunter Hunter is the perfect example of a short movie that feels longer than it is, but not because it's boring; because it's dense and it trusts that you'll follow along. Dawn your camo, load your guns, and fill up your canteens, because Hunter Hunter on Hulu, is one adventure you might not all make it back from...

"Who is he?"