Enjoyable Yet Familiar, Night of the Hunted (2023) Brings Mass Shooter Horror to Shudder

Title: Night of the Hunted

First Non-Festival Release: October 5, 2023 (Theatrical Release)

Director: Franck Khalfoun

Writer: Rubén Ávila Calvo, Glen Freyer, Franck Khalfoun

Runtime: 95 Minutes

Starring: Camile Rowe, Stasa Stanic, Jeremy Scippio

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

On her way home from a conference, Alice (Camile Rowe) and her co-worker, John (Jeremy Scippio), stop at a gas station. Actively avoiding calls from her husband, Alice feels guilty for the ongoing affair she is continuing with John. While John is filling up the car, she heads inside to pick up some quick supplies. Right before she discovers something terrible, Alice is shot by an unknown assailant, and is thrust into a night of survival that will test her resolve and question her character.

Serviceable survival thriller with a compelling lead performance, Night of the Hunted captivates with raw tension.

Focusing on simplicity, Night of the Hunted doesn’t venture far off from single location thrills. Not even fifteen minutes into the film, the gunshots start, and the bodies begin to pile up. Alice is put in an impossible predicament of outsmarting a well-prepared killer hiding in the darkness outside. With single-location horror films, it is crucial to find ways to keep the action moving in a believable manner. In Night of the Hunted, Alice makes her way around the gas station searching for a way out of her nightmare. Using the aisles, products, and tools at her disposal, she continuously finds creative ways to maneuver around the building. She does this while evading the line of sight of the deranged killer on the other side of the radio.

Heavy-handed at times, its hammering away at contemporary political commentary causes the film to trip over itself and takes away from the suspense it builds. Mass shootings have long been embedded in the societal norms of the United States for the entirety of this reviewer’s life. Another film tackling these horrors make sense when combined with the increased political polarization that contributes to the rising tension of everyday Americans. COVID-19, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and even January 6th are called upon in Night of the Hunted. Much of this amounts to very little in meaningfully stated points. Used more as a plot device than a source of inspiration, the political ramblings of the deluded killer, even pointed out with self-awareness, feel more like an excuse to pad the runtime, and make the killer more unlikable.

While the script misses on much of the dialogue between the victim and hunter, Alice herself is a fully realized, flawed human worth rooting for. From the beginning, we learn about how selfish Alice truly is and that she is willing to put herself first whenever needed. Through her actions, like her infidelity, and her inactions, like not doing enough to warn or save others from the sniper, she shows herself to be a survivor more than a savior. As she is confronted with her own selfishness, known to the killer or not, she opts to make better choices. She tries, unsuccessfully, to lead others away from harm even if it means putting herself in danger. This character arc is lost on viewers who judge her cheating as the ultimate sin, much like the psychotic killer, but can be rewarding for people who see the nuance in human motivations.

Realism aside, director Franck Khalfoun squeezes out every breath of tension as he makes full use of the lonely gas station. Khalfoun finds plenty of moments to make Alice, and the audience, squirm as she tries to puzzle her way out of the situation. Each time she is approached by a stranger, she must make the decision of how to engage. She tries teaming up others, writing messages, and even yelling at drivers to leave. The killer always makes it clear he intends to kill, but Alice and the audience never know when this will happen. Khalfoun revels in the tension and gives viewers plenty of shocks without getting cartoonish with the violence. 

The truth is that Night of the Hunted is an effective film that fails to differentiate itself from others in the subgenre. It makes sense given that it is a remake of a 2015 Spanish film, Night of the Rat. Great scares and a compelling lead performance anchor the film enough for casual viewers. Rough political commentary and a lack of purpose may be enough to turn off audience members unwilling to engage in the unoriginal premise. Overall, it is a decidedly fine and enjoyable survival thriller that is certain to get a jolt or two out of most.

Overall Score? 6/10