#SXSW: “HUNTING DAZE” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Nina (Nahéma Ricci) just wants to go home. Stranded in the far North, she ends up at an isolated cabin in the woods with five guys celebrating a bachelor party. They are initially against her arrival, but gradually warm up to her. When a mysterious drifter ends up at the party, things take a sharp turn for the worst.

Saying any more than that would ruin the visceral nightmare HUNTING DAZE quickly becomes. The breathless intensity rarely dissipates over the course of its brief 79-minute running time. Instead, first time feature Director Annick Blanc just keeps ratcheting up the tension to unbearable heights. And nearly every moment outside of that is spent examining and basking in the sheer toxicity this group of men communicate and act within. Blanc deliberately frames the headstrong, gives-no-fucks Nina as being smaller and inferior to this bachelor party, and delights in using her to tear down stereotypes and any of your expectations.

The small Cast are good in their roles, with Ricci as the clear standout. I just kind of wish the film around them did not feel so drawn out. I understand Blanc’s intention of making the audience feel genuinely uncomfortable (why else would you have so many extreme facial close-ups?), but feel like the endlessness of some scenes could have been better reigned in. I watched HUNTING DAZE alone though. You might feel a bit different watching it in a big group, all collectively holding your breath and terrified of what comes next.

Hunting Daze screens at SXSW ’24:

Mar 9 at 10PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 11 at 7PM at Alamo Lamar 4

Mar 14 at 9PM at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 14 at 9:30PM at Violet Crown Cinema 3