Left For Dead

Amid right-wing criticism—and a Trump tweet—Universal shelved its film The Hunt. Now the director breaks his silence on why everything you know about the movie is wrong

- Ryan Gajewski

Name your favorite thriller of the past year. If The Hunt doesn’t come to mind, it’s not because you’re behind the times. The film, which boasts a top-notch cast and filmmaking pedigree, wasn’t on your best-of-2019 list because you still haven’t seen it — and neither have the people who helped prevent you from seeing it.

Produced by horror master Jason Blum and co-written by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse (who both worked on Watchmen and The Leftovers), The Hunt was set for theatrical release from Universal on September 27. A trailer that dropped in July sketched out a plot in which Betty Gilpin, Emma Roberts and Justin Hartley band together against a diabolical overlord played by Hilary Swank.

On August 3, a shooting motivated by anti-immigrant hatred left 22 people dead in El Paso. Days later, a story from The Hollywood Reporter stated that networks were pulling ads for the film in light of the tragedy. As reports surfaced that the plot revolved around liberals hunting conservatives for sport, right-wing pundits pounced. Trump, presumably responding to heavy Fox News coverage, tweeted about the film on August 9 without mentioning it by name. “Liberal Hollywood is racist at the highest level,” Trump wrote. “The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos.”

The day after the president’s tweet, Universal announced it was pulling the movie from its schedule. The studio said it stood by the filmmakers, but “now is not the right time to release this film.” At press time, The Hunt remains in limbo, with no updates on whether it will see the light of day.