The Wild Hunt (film)

The Wild Hunt is a 2009 Canadian horror film produced and directed by Alexandre Franchi and starring Mark Antony Krupa, Ricky Mabe, and Kaniehtiio Horn.

The Wild Hunt
Directed byAlexandre Franchi
Produced byAlexandre Franchi
Karen Murphy
Written byAlexandre Franchi
Mark A. Krupa
StarringMark Antony Krupa
Ricky Mabe
Kaniehtiio Horn
Music byVincent Hänni
Gabriel Scotti
Edited byStephen Philipson
Arthur Tarnowski
Distributed byTVA Films
Release date
  • 9 April 2009 (2009-04-09)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000 (CA$)

Plot

Erik Magnusson and his girlfriend Evelyn have a falling out, in part due to stress from Erik's dying, incoherent father. She leaves to live in a live action role-playing game whose characters such as Celts, elves and Vikings are derived from the Middle Ages.[2] Murtagh, the leader of a group within the game, wants Evelyn to participate in the Wild Hunt, a ritual that, if successful, will give his players a significant advantage in an upcoming mass battle.

Erik pursues Evelyn only to disrupt the game's proceedings.[3] Erik partners with his estranged brother Bjorn and other players and referees on a quest to find Evelyn. He rescues her from the Wild Hunt and the two are reconciled, despite Murtagh's efforts to persuade her to come back.

Having lost Evelyn and been humiliated by Erik, Murtagh snaps and ritually cuts off his gamer wrist band. He leads his followers in a vicious assault on the main camp, injuring people and killing Erik. Murtagh flees, witnessing Evelyn commit suicide as he escapes through the woods.

Days later, Bjorn breaks into Murtagh's home and beats him to death.

Cast
  • Mark Antony Krupa – Bjorn Magnusson
  • Ricky Mabe – Erik Magnusson
  • Kaniehtiio Horn – Evelyn / Princess Evlynia
  • Trevor Hayes – Shaman Murtagh
  • Kent McQuaid – Greg'Ash
  • Nicolas Wright – King Argyle
  • Claudia Jurt – Tamara (referee)
  • Kyle Gatehouse – David
  • Spiro Malandrakis – Oliver (referee)
  • Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon – Miguel / The Mexican Viking
  • Holly O'Brien – Princess Ambrosia
  • Martin Stone – Magnus Gunnarsson
  • Terry Simpson – Bernie / Captain BernHeart

Production

The Wild Hunt is the first feature-length film by Montreal producer-director Alexandre Franchi.[1][4] The production was based on 35mm film with an estimated $500,000 (CA$) budget.[5]

Release

The film was screened in September 2009 at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film.[6] It was presented at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2010 where it received an Audience Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film.[4]

Reception

National Post film reviewer Chris Knight rated the film at 3 stars, noting Claudia Jurt's role presented the "strongest link in this chain-mail tale".[7] The Toronto Star review considered the film an "impressive achievement" but noted that technical flaws in editing, lighting and camera usage detracted from the plot and that the production should have been better funded.[8] The Montreal Gazette gave a very positive review calling the low-budget film "[m]iraculously shot".[9]

Along with the aforementioned wins at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival, the film received two nominations at the 31st Genie Awards. Patricia McNeil was nominated for Best Costume Design while Claudine Sauvé was nominated for Best Cinematography.[10]

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References
  1. "The Wild Hunt". Telefilm Canada. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  2. "The Wild Hunt". Cinematheque Ontario. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  3. Bell, Robert (October 2009). "TIFF Reviews: The Wild Hunt". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  4. "Montreal film The Wild Hunt scores Slamdance audience prize". CBC News. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  5. Wiggers, Darryl (31 August 2009). "Canada First! The Wild Hunt". Playback. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  6. "It's a wrap for TIFF; Film 'Precious' nabs audience prize at festival, stoking Oscar predictions". Telegraph-Journal, 21 September 2009.
  7. Knight, Chris (9 April 2010). "The Wild Hunt: The role play's the thing". National Post. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  8. Howell, Peter (8 April 2010). "The Wild Hunt: Promising thriller needed bigger budget". Toronto Star. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  9. Griffin, John (9 April 2010). "Movie review: The Wild Hunt / Small film aims high and hits big time". The Gazette. Montreal. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  10. Punter, Jennie (2 February 2011). "'Barney's Version,' 'Incendies' top Genie noms". Variety. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
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