The Hunt 2020

In a clandestine gathering of the privileged class, an enigmatic discussion unfolds regarding the impending “game” to be played upon a group of unsuspecting individuals. This coterie of power brokers includes Ted The Doctor (Steve Coulter), Athena Stone (Hilary Swank), Richard (Glenn Howerton), Captain O’Hara (Jim Klock), Liberty (Teri Wyble), Martin (Dean West), and Sgt Dale (Steve Mokate), a consultant to the elites, alongside Miranda / Ma, Julius / Pa, Peter (Vince Pisani), and Crisis Mike (Usman Ally). On Athena’s private jet, a flight attendant engages in conversation with Richard before being interrupted by an unexpected arrival: Randy (Jason Kirkpatrick), one of the strangers who was supposed to be part of the hunt. As Randy stumbles out from the cargo hold, Ted claims to be a medical professional and subdued him, while Athena ultimately puts an end to his life. It becomes clear that the strangers were transported to the manor via Athena’s private plane, with Randy awakening prematurely.

As the story unfolds, 12 individuals - including Gary (Ethan Suplee), Don (Wayne Duvall), Yoga Pants (Emma Roberts), Moses / Staten Island (Ike Barinholtz), Trucker / Shane (Justin Hartley), Crystal Creasey (Betty Gilpin), Caroline / Dead Sexy (Sylvia Grace Crim), Boxer / Target (Christopher Berry), Molly / Big Red (Kate Nowlin), and Bandana Man (Walker Babington) - find themselves inexplicably awoken in a secluded clearing, referred to only as Manor House. The strangers are left bewildered, with no recollection of how they arrived or their current surroundings. Each individual is met with a gag locked from behind, which Yoga Pants eventually manages to free using keys found in a small envelope kept atop a wooden platform.

As the group begins to uncover the truth, they discover that they have been chosen to participate in a twisted game devised by the wealthy elites, and that their conservative beliefs are the sole reason for their selection. The strangers soon find themselves equipped with weapons from a stash within the clearing. Yoga Pants is the first to fall victim to a long-range rifle attack, followed swiftly by the gruesome demise of Dead Sexy as she’s impaled on a booby trap while fleeing the gunfire. Trucker Shane meets his end after triggering a landmine. The source of the fire appears to emanate from the command bunker, situated at a distance but with an unobstructed line of sight.

As the chaos unfolds, some of the strangers stumble upon a perimeter fence that encircles the clearing and the surrounding woods, hinting at the scope of the sinister game being played.

As Target (character), Big Red, Vanilla Nice & Staten Island venture forth across the rustic fence, their hopes of finding civilization are rekindled. Alas, Target’s optimism proves fleeting as they’re hunted down by an unseen foe, eventually succumbing to a hail of arrows and a devastating grenade attack. Meanwhile, the remaining trio crosses into the supposed haven beyond the barrier.

Their newfound refuge is a gas station, masquerading as a normal service stop on route 31, near Elaine in Arkansas. Ma (Amy Madigan) and Pa (Reed Birney), posing as attendants, assure the weary travelers that they’re close to civilization. Staten Island takes a calculated risk, making a desperate 911 call using their phone, revealing to the unsuspecting operator that a group of people has been abducted and is trapped in a Manorgate-like scenario.

The operator’s true identity is quickly exposed as an elite operative, and our protagonists soon find themselves under fire from Ma and Pa. In a stunning turn of events, these seemingly innocuous attendants reveal the harsh reality of climate change, leaving the group reeling. As they clean up the gas station in preparation for potential future visitors, their actions betray a sinister intent.

Crystal Creasey (Betty Gilpin), one of the hunted, refuses to go quietly into the night. She begins taking down her pursuers one by one, displaying a formidable fighting spirit. Her rampage culminates in a gruesome showdown with Ma and Pa at the gas station, where she dispatches them for their egregious deception – specifically, their outrageous pricing of cigarettes ($6 in Arkansas) that ultimately seals their fate.

With the truth revealed, Crystal inspects the pickup truck outside, discovering the ruse of fake license plates, which reveals her location: Croatia. She also commandeers Ma and Pa’s Walkie Talkie to monitor their communications, only to learn that she’s being tracked by drones. Using this intelligence, Crystal expertly evades her pursuers.

Her next move takes her onto a train filled with refugees, whom Gary, a conspiracy theorist podcaster, believes are crisis actors. The train is suddenly raided by Croatian soldiers, prompting chaos and confusion. As Gary attempts to convince the authorities of Manorgate’s existence and the supposed perfidy of the refugees, “Crisis Mike” reveals his true nature: one of the hunters. He offers Gary a chance at redemption in exchange for cooperation, but our protagonist has other plans.

Gary wrests a grenade from Mike and uses it to eliminate him, sending the train into chaos. Crystal finds herself whisked away to a refugee camp, where she encounters Don, setting the stage for her next move in this increasingly complex web of deception and survival.

As Oliver Fauxnvoy (Macon Blair), an envoy from the Croatian U.S. Embassy, arrives at the scene to extract Crystal and Don, an air of unease settles over them. Crystal’s growing suspicion of Oliver’s true intentions culminates in a shocking turn of events as she runs him over and sends his lifeless body crashing to the ground. The duo soon discovers the gruesome remains of Gary, whose trunk is filled with “bribe money” and a cryptic map of the Manor. As Crystal recounts the twisted tale of “the Jackrabbit and the Box Turtle,” in which the cunning predator claims victory over its slow-moving prey, the gravity of their situation becomes increasingly dire.

Crystal’s next move is a calculated strike against Oliver’s intended destination, leaving a trail of carnage as she brutally dispatches Richard, Ted, Martin, Peter, Liberty, and injures the tactical consultant Sgt. Dale. Meanwhile, Athena’s voice crackles over the radio, asking Don if he has ended Crystal’s reign of terror. However, instead of disarming, Don remains steadfast in his determination to take down Crystal, only to meet a violent demise at her hands.

In a chilling display of psychological manipulation, Crystal extracts information from Sgt. Dale through gruesome torture, revealing a haunting glimpse into her troubled past as an Afghanistan veteran. As the scene unfolds, it becomes clear that Athena’s group text exchange was nothing more than a joke, but its subsequent leak on the internet sparked widespread outrage over “Manorgate.” The participants, whose careers were irreparably damaged by the conspiracy theory, decide to take matters into their own hands and abduct those responsible for spreading the scandal.

Crystal’s twisted fate is sealed when she confronts Athena, claiming that the latter has mistaken her identity with another woman from the same city in Mississippi. The two engage in a brutal struggle, ultimately impaling each other on the blades of a food processor. As Crystal gazes upon Athena’s lifeless form, a jackrabbit appears at her side, imbuing her with an unexpected surge of strength.

With her wound cauterized and Athena’s clothes and bag donned, Crystal boards her jet, reuniting with the same flight attendant who had greeted her at the film’s outset. As she prepares to take to the skies once more, the dark and foreboding landscape stretches out before her, a testament to the unending cycle of violence and chaos that has defined her existence.