Movie releases are being delayed and movies currently in theaters are seeing slumps in attendance. Everyone is (hopefully) at home and not going out. Blah Blah Blah. We all know the social distancing whoozy-whatsy. I myself have gone stir crazy and forgotten how to use words.
Anyway, Universal is releasing some of its current theatrical features on digital so we can enjoy them safely within our quarantined walls!
The Hunt
The Hunt was initially supposed to be released in 2019, but once word got out it was about liberals literally hunting conservatives (and other multiple mass shootings happening at the same time), The Hunt was pushed back to a hopefully calmer time–March 2020.
Starring Betty Gilpin (who I want to see in a frown-off between her and Florence Pugh), The Hunt takes our culture’s online personalities and throws them on the screen to exploit stereotypes on both ends of the spectrum. From right-leaning conspiracy theorists to leftists taking everything Too Seriously, this film really drives the message of, “Hey everyone sucks, ok?”
Honestly, I can’t say much without giving away twists and developments better left discovered during a watch. Universal’s limited advertising really does a fantastic job of baiting you into a film with a killer cast (Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, Ike Barinholtz, and Justin Hartley to name a few) and switching to a humorous, gory, mirror that says, “this is you. This is how you act. Knock it off.”
I give The Hunt 4/5 dressed up pigs.
The Invisible Man
I was lucky enough to see The Invisible Man pre-quarantine in a Dolby XD theater which is the experience I would recommend most, but we gotta work with what we got.
In a movie I can’t help but think was designed to help Elisabeth Moss realize Scientology is an abusive partner, Moss does what she does best–stare off at nothing with pure fear on her face. The Invisible Man makes the choice to move past character and relationship developments and drops you in the middle of an already existing life. A woman escapes her abusive boyfriend, moves in with her friend and his daughter, and has a strained relationship with her sister. No backstory accompanies any of these relationships. Instead, the film makes you focus on feeling like you’re being watched and also seeing things that aren’t there. Shots are framed just so, a shot that would normally center on two people has extra negative space as if the characters are not alone.
The Invisible Man puts so much effort into creating an atmosphere (which it does phenomenally) that it takes away from the things that make us care about the characters we are watching. The scares are not the usual jump scares and I have heard from multiple people–myself included–that we aren’t sure if we screamed during the movie? It is a very immersive movie, the scenes progress whether you are ready or not. The Invisible Man is a great watch if you are looking for something to make you feel scared but you don’t want to get invested in the characters.
This movie gets 3/5 unlikeable characters.
Emma
(As of posting, I have not seen this one yet. I’ll have a review here on 3/20 after I’ve seen it!)