How did you get involved with The Hunt?
Well [director] Craig Zobel [and writers] Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof developed it and went out to the market place with it with Craig attached to direct it. It was quite competitive but I loved it. And later I learned that Damon said he wanted to make a Blumhouse movie, so I was in pole position but I didn’t know that at the time. They played their cards very close to their chests!
What were your first thoughts when you read the script?
It checked every box for Blumhouse! It was subversive, visceral, unique and scary and exciting… I loved the script. It’s an absolute roller coaster – one minute you’re laughing and then the next you’re cringing with gore. It pulls on every emotion!
We thought Betty Gilpin was great in the movie…
Me too! I can’t imagine the movie with anyone else in that part, she just does great. She’s like the movie; she keeps you guessing the whole time.
We’ve heard of people seeing similarities between The Hunt and The Purge have you heard that?
I haven’t but I can see that, I get why people would say that. That’s interesting. It’s a cross between The Purge and Get Out!
The movie was famously pulled from theatres in 2019 after two mass shootings in the US. What are your thoughts now it’s been released in cinemas?
I really wanted people to see it and to see it theatrically I really wanted that. I didn’t want it to go to streaming, so I’m really happy. It was a really long road to get here. But I’m really glad we did.
Has the controversy surrounding The Hunt put you off making politically-charged movies?
The opposite. Everyone telling me to shut up just makes me louder!
