Call of the Hunter
Call of the Hunter
| 11 November 2009 (USA)
Call of the Hunter Trailers

A documentary crew arrive at an old country manor intent on filming the Legend of Herne the Hunter. As members of the crew die in horrible circumstances the survivors are on a desperate search to find what the spirit of the forest wants.

Reviews
BG Green

This film was shot a few years ago and what with the updates in cameras like the Canon D5 etc. One can see that this was done on possibly a lower grade camera. It has moments when you can tell it's the magic word - VIDEO.But that aside and having seen how much it was made for and am impressed - mainly with the story and the actors, all of whom are excellent with a couple of exceptions. But do not want to sound negative about this - It's good, it's entertaining, has it's horror moments with a smattering of good humour.The cut is very sharp and there is little waste, which keeps it's pace up, this is often a big problem with very low budget as they tend to labour over things... this doesn't - it's lean and at 85 minutes zips by.My favourite character is Dan - he's so affable, cheeky and has most of the best lines. Max is a smaller role but is played beautifully. Of the Ladies, Tamsin is the main lead role and is very much the holding role as a character - done really well. Also the crazy transformation of Natasha is very interesting.Is it worth a watch - damn right. I enjoyed this movie... a lot!

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tony-walsworth

Call of the Hunter is an independently made horror drama reminiscent of the later Hammer horror productions of the 1970s, featuring a team of documentary makers investigating the legend of Herne the hunter, who become stranded in a creepy old house set in dark woodland by no less than the spirit of Herne himself. Call of the Hunter is well made considering its cripplingly low budget, and is ably supported by a talented and enthusiastic cast and crew engaged with a simple yet sturdy plot that develops slowly at first and then accelerates onward exhibiting a malevolent force dotted with short blasts of blood and gore which continue to build right up until the final moments. The movie style exploits the fast twitch, sudden shock approach to horror that's associated with the Hammer style but goes somewhat further than this by adding greater depth to the characters and a story that has the luxury of warming up before the final sprint. The movie has some significant comedy moments and a distinctly self satirising feel with lines such as 'If this was a horror film I'd be dead by now!' and 'Why is it always the Brummie that gets it?' spoken by Dan, a deeply unfortunate Birmingham man who seems intent on rendering himself unconscious at every possible opportunity. There's a good class of monster, some absolutely classic turn around scenes in the final moments and, for those who like the heavy rock/metal genre of music,there's also some pretty decent action score thrown in. The cast of Call of the Hunter deserve a good deal of credit for the way in which they've become immersed in the story in a completely unselfconscious way that lends a great deal to the credibility of the tale. In particular my hat comes off to Sarah Paul (Tamsin), who demonstrates a significantly stalwart nature until just the right time whereupon she caves in and then comes back stronger, and to Michael Instone (Dan) for some great comedy. No-one can push a cadaver across a field in a wheelbarrow like him. The Hammer horror productions are now in the cult status department of most DVD stores and I've no doubt that Call of the Hunter will one day sit alongside them. I watched this movie once. Then I watched all the extra features, got to know the cast, saw the making of the movie and the humour and camaraderie that went into it, and then I watched the movie again and enjoyed it even more. There aren't many flicks that I'm prepared to say that about. If you can get it, get it.

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ed-gains

I came across this title whilst doing some research on the Green Man - and one of the connections is a book by a really excellent author John Matthews. The title is, The Quest for the Green Man. So one lead to the other and after reading the green man I decided to see what this film was about. The trailer looked interesting and I love horror movies and independent work so took a chance.Having found out how low the budget, I was not only surprised by the quality, but was enthralled by the content. The first half is filled with great information and legend about Herne the Hunter, the Green Man and by not showing too much of him keep the interest in the character.The acting is superb, the writing is excellent and it's been edited at pace so is never boring. The DVD also has quite a lot of extras which in the end made this a 10/10 vote for me in terms of value for money. I really believe that they could exploit other English legends and folklore.In conclusion: Worth every penny, because every penny is on screen.

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Gavin Stanley

Considering the pittance that this really entertaining and inventive film took to make, it is very much a minor miracle of a film. Everything from the direction and stylised shots to the soundtrack, score and overall quality is amazing. Apparently the budget was around £25k!!! Well for that I would have expected a b-list feature length soap with wooden acting and poorly lit sets. I was very surprised to be totally engrossed in the film and had no 'niggles' in my mind like 'that looked cheap', 'that sound was dodgy' and so on. In fact it was the opposite. The shots were excellent and interesting, the rock soundtrack was superb, the script flowed extremely well and the plot was intelligent. It reminded me a little of a really good quality, contemporary, feature length version of 'Tales Of The Unexpected' mixed with a Hammer House Of Horror film and it felt like 'something a bit different' from horror movies that have been released recently which I have found boring with little imagination. The performances from every member of the cast were excellent with a lot of variation in characters. Mike Instone came across very well indeed as the cheeky Brummie with a heart ( a heart of gold or a cut out of the chest beating heart with a knife in it??? Go see it and find out!).Also Katrin Reidel-Kelly did a great job of a very spooky and quirky loon.but overall the acting performances were spotless. I thought that the effects in the film were very good and not too 'over the top' and the guts and gore were very convincing. The mainly rock soundtrack suited the movie perfectly and drove the plot along with gusto and the score was very well done indeed and created the right tense atmosphere. Overall, I think this movie has got the chance to become a real cult hit. £25k for this!! Miracles do happen.

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