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DOWSE movie guide review of The Hunted

The Hunted
Director: Paul Racine
1995
review by Mike Philbin

You either love or hate Val Kilmer. Simple as that. He turns up in the credits as actor, director or executive producer and you know you are going to be hearing the sound of turkey's gobbling all through the turgid romp. Admittedly, Val Kilmer is not in The Hunted, but Christophe Lambert is. He is another of these irrationally loved irrationally hated movie superstars. So, it was with much trepidation that I sat down to 'endure' this modern day Samurai B-movie.
   The Hunted is a simple story of revenge across the centuries. Samurai school A hates Samurai school B. Throw in a revenge plot in the form of seductively assassinated Joan Chen, Lambert's cocktail party love interest and you got all the narrative you need. Like a scene from some New Testament sermon, where the ill-fated Messiah, Chen, organises, seduces and takes as her Last Supper, shall we say, the inimitable, if not happily cross-eyed Lambert. And she gives of her best in this bathtub romp, gouts of boiling passion in this steam filled finalé to her cutting edge existence... but I digress.
   The hired Samurai Master from school A comes in and offs Chen, a top notch confrontation with the defenceless pouting starlet spitting in the face of her assassin and pouring scorn on his honour. Lambert sees this and is wounded by the Samurai in his escape. Lambert escapes, he is the first to ever escape the school A assassins. And here is where the movie stops its cultural posturing and gets into some of the most superbly executed (excuse the pun) Samurai swording this decade. Some of the artistry reminded one of early William Gibson short stories like Johhny Mnemonic with the protagonists monofilament-like blades scything through steal struts and cleaving apart entire ribcages with horrific gut spilling audio accompaniment.
   You really get the sense that these enemies will not stop until all of the heirs to the respective throne have been offed. No-one in this movie escapes the ruthless vengeance meted out, either directly or indirectly. Even the guy who first contracted out the school A Samurai to off Chen gets his come-uppance.
   But the clincher, the absolute winner that means 'you have to go hire out this classic' is the school B Samurai Master's expert defence techniques on the speeding Shinkansen of horror. We will not be dishonoured again. Kill all the passengers between here and the enemy. And the blood bath ensues.
   Gripping, touching, action packed, memorable for al the right reasons.
   In the same way that Kilmer killed Batman and Thunder Heart and The Island Of Doctor Morreau, so Lambert could so easily have killed this. But he was on fine Subway form with this one which must score lots out of ten.

Mike Philbin

DOWSE Guide to the Movies is compiled by Tony Lee editor of Pigasus Press
You can order videos and DVD releases reviewed on these pages at Blackstar

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