Hard Target 1993

The film kicks off with a man on the run from a gang of armed thugs in the vicinity of New Orleans. Among the pursuing men, one stands out, wielding a high-tech crossbow and determined to personally take down the fleeing man. As he reaches the river, the man escapes onto a wooden boat dock but is shot twice by the crossbow wielder. One bolt strikes him in the chest, piercing through his military dog tags, and he collapses into the water below. Shortly after, his body is recovered, and the gang member, Pik Van Cleaf, seizes a money belt from him. The gang’s leader, Emile Fouchon, inquires whether the hunter’s experience met his expectations, to which the answer is affirmative.

Meanwhile, a young woman named Natascha “Nat” Binder arrives in New Orleans from Detroit, on a quest to find her father, the man who was killed by this gang. She starts her search at local missions and soup kitchens, only to discover that her father was an out-of-work manual laborer and a former US Army veteran. With no leads in sight, she heads to the French Quarter. At a shabby diner, she unwittingly makes her money visible to a group of thuggish men while paying for her breakfast. When she steps outside to her car, these goons attack her with malicious intent. Thankfully, a man named Chance Boudreaux, who was also in the diner, intervenes, displaying impressive hand-to-hand combat and martial arts skills to fend them off. Chance warns Nat to be more cautious and, despite her pleas for his assistance in locating her father, he refuses, stating that he must leave soon for work on a ship.

On the New Orleans docks, Chance learns he cannot work until he settles his penalized union dues. Nat soon finds him and offers to pay him for his help in locating her father, to which Chance reluctantly agrees. They consider approaching the police, but Nat is hesitant, having already reported her father’s disappearance but feeling ignored by law enforcement. They decide to meet Detective Marie Mitchell, who provides only fragmented information, revealing that Nat’s father’s remains have been found in a burnt-out warehouse. Because he was homeless, the initial assumption is that he perished in an unfortunate accident during the fire. Driven by doubt, Chance investigates the scene and discovers one of the dog tags belonging to Nat’s father, noting a peculiar hole in it. He is soon ambushed by two thugs who threaten him to stop his inquiries about Binder’s death. After a fierce confrontation, Chance overpowers them but ends up arrested for trespassing. He successfully argues his case to Mitchell and Nat, insisting that Binder’s death was no accident but rather the result of foul play connected to a sharp weapon.

A local man, Elijah Roper, who knew Nat’s father from the missions, divulges that Binder had been handing out fliers for a seedy local brothel owned by [Randal Poe]. This establishment secretly collaborates with Fouchon and Pik to lure desperate men for their twisted games: rich clients pay $500,000 to hunt humans for sport. New Orleans serves as their latest hunting ground. As police scrutiny intensifies following the discovery of Binder’s body, Fouchon and Pik turn to Poe, torturing him for information about how much he disclosed to law enforcement. During a chance encounter, Chance confronts Poe while he is getting a massage, pressuring him for information on Nat’s father. It becomes evident that the city’s coroner, Morton, is involved in covering up the murderous activities orchestrated by Fouchon and his crew.

In a dramatic turn, Fouchon confronts Morton at his home, leading to the doctor’s abrupt demise right after he learns that Mitchell has ordered a reevaluation of Binder’s corpse. A plan is set into motion for one last hunt in New Orleans before they flee to Eastern Europe to continue their operations under the radar. Poe, wanting to escape, offers Roper a position with a substantial salary, which is eagerly accepted. Fouchon then coordinates with a new client, discussing payment for their gruesome game and setting up another human target. Roper unwittingly finds himself in a deadly situation when he is granted a head start to escape. With pursuers hot on his trail, he fights for his life, yet ultimately falls victim to Fouchon’s merciless crew.

Through persistent investigation, Chance and Nat are led back to Detective Mitchell, only to learn of Roper’s disappearance, prompting them to track down Poe once more. In a shocking twist, just as they locate him packing for departure, Pik executes him in cold blood. While fleeing, Nat and Chance find themselves cornered by Fouchon’s thugs, resulting in Mitchell’s tragic death. With a spirit of vengeance, Chance commandeers a motorcycle, and the duo flees, but not without an exhilarating chase involving high stakes.

The escalating tension leads Chance and Nat into the bayou, where they set various traps to outsmart Fouchon and his crew. Particularly memorable is the moment Chance disarms a rattlesnake and ingeniously utilizes it as a trap, leading to one of Fouchon’s henchmen being bitten in the chaos that ensues. Eventually, they retreat to Chance’s Uncle Douvee’s home, where a well-laid trap eventually backfires on Fouchon’s crew.

The climax builds as Chance leads Pik and others to the Mardi Gras Graveyard, where he uses the surrounding environment ingeniously to fight off Fouchon’s men. Ultimately, a fierce confrontation ensues between Chance and Pik, resulting in the latter’s demise. In the end, with stakes higher than ever, Chance reunites with Nat and Douvee as they finally reclaim safety from their harrowing ordeal.