Headed to Shudder on October 20th is Night of the Hunted, from French director Franck Khalfoun (P2, the outstanding Maniac remake), and what a refreshingly simple logline this one has: basically, what does one do when pinned down in a remote gas station by some lunatic wielding a sniper rifle? Whereas this writer would likely succumb to a pronounced bout of crying, it appears that heroine at the center of Khalfoun’s film will be a bit more resourceful.
Here’s an official plot synopsis:
When an unsuspecting woman (Camille Rowe) stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she’s made the plaything of a sociopathic sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Wanna see what this looks like in action? Sure ya do:
This looks like a solid little thriller with a fun mystery at its core, and lord knows “sniper horror” isn’t a flavor we get very often, but I’ve gotta say: the fact that this is the same Franck Khalfoun who directed the truly nightmarish, Elijah Wood-starring Maniac remake (2012) has me excited more than anything else going on here. That film really dug its way under my skin (I’ve not seen it in a decade and I still think about it at least once a week), and I’m excited to see Khalfoun bringing his talents to bear on another gritty murder thriller.
Also worth noting? This one’s produced by Khalfoun’s frequent collaborator, Alexandre Aja, the madman behind Haute Tension (2003), the Hills Have Eyes remake (2006), and the excellent “trapped in a flooded house with a bunch of alligators” movie Crawl (2019). In short, this is a creative team that knows its way around an intense thriller.
Here’s a poster, should that please you:
Nothing further to report on Night of the Hunted at this time, but rest assured we’ll be keeping you informed with further updates between now and the film’s October 20th arrival on Shudder. Stay tuned, folks.
