DVD REVIEW: The Wild Hunt

[MichaelK]

The horror movie for LARPers...

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I need to preface this review by stating that I am in no way a fan of LARPing or “Live Action Role Play.” I find the whole idea of grown men and women running around the woods acting like elves, fairies, knights, etc. in full costume and pretending to stage epic battles and fight over who was killed downright ridiculous. Now I’m not saying that dressing up in costume is silly and I love Renaissance Fairs but there is such a thing as taking it too far. And that's exactly what happens in the new film The Wild Hunt. But the thing about this award-winning film (it received the Audience Award at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival and won the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival) is that all of the absurdity just adds the backdrop to an engaging psychological drama with likeable actors, a bit of humor, and some good old-fashioned carnage.

The Canadian film is shot in Quebec and follows the story of Erik, a young man who is dealing with the hardships of caring for his sick and mentally disturbed father, having been abandoned by his brother Bjorn(who is also heavily in to LARPing), and this is straining the relationship with his girlfriend Lyn, who seems to have deep-rooted problems herself. When Lyn leaves for a weekend getaway with another guy to go participate in LARPing, something Erik neither understands or cares about, he lets the jealousy get the best of him makes his way to the game site in hopes of talking things out. His flagrant disregard for the rules and disruption of the events that many of the people hold sacred begins to anger some of the participants and reaches a boiling point when he interrupts a ceremony called “The Wild Hunt”. Tempers flare and people take the LARPing to a new level and the things that were once acting become very real.

The DVD includes a small collection of bonus features including a theatrical trailer, a series of comic book-like storyboards, and a making of featurette. Also included is footage from some of the showings of the film where cast members actually held a real Wild Hunt, charging down city streets in full medieval garb and brandishing weapons.

The Wild Hunt is a thoroughly enjoyable film and I can easily consider it one of the better films I’ve seen this year. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys dressing up and waving a sword around (and even those who don’t) as I’m sure almost anyone will find something to like about the film. Despite having a rather melancholy theme and some tragic turn of events, the ending is definitely worth the ride.

The Wild Hunt is available now on DVD.

Review by Michael Klein

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