Climate Of The Hunter is a psychological thriller from director Mickey Reece, starring Mary Buss and Ginger Gilmartin as two sisters who meet up with an acquaintance they haven’t seen in decades.
This movie is such a wholly unique and unusual beast that I found myself scratching my brain on what to tell you about the film. This indecision was not a byproduct of faulty memory either, for Climate Of the Hunter featured several scenes and shots so profusely strange and shocking, that they will undoubtedly stick with me for quite some time.
The challenging thing about Climate Of The Hunter is that, while the film was certainly enjoyable and fairly straightforward in one sense, it was also magnificently confusing and bizarre. I’m still not sure what message the creative team intended for viewers to absorb after viewing this arthouse enigma.
Climate Of The Hunter Has Some Serious Fangs
Certain options are immediately apparent. Ginger Gilmartin’s character, Alma, suffers from some serious mental health issues. This is apparent through both the film’s visual presentation and the aggressive attempts to “get Alma help” conducted by both Mary Buss’ Elizabeth and Alma’s daughter, Rose, played by Danielle Evon Ploeger.
Her main “arc”, if you could even call it that, is the realization that their old friend Wesley (Ben Hall) is a far darker creature than he presents himself as. She slowly begins to believe that he is in fact, a vampire. And since the movie is largely told through her lense, we have to decide if we believe that Wesley was a Nosferatu, or if Alma was as unstable as her family claimed.
Issues like this muddy the water of clarity. While that isn’t a bad thing in it’s own right, it can be difficult to decipher from time to time.
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The film’s small-town getaway setting, as well as the dialogue, set and prop design gave it a very retro, old-timey feel. At the same time, like the vampire, Climate Of The Hunter has an ageless quality to it. You could tell me that the film was released yesterday, the day before, or fifty years ago, and I’d believe you in a heartbeat if I didn’t know better.
Climate Of The Hunter: A Timeless Creation
The performances are solid through and through, and the sound design was pitch perfect as well. While this was certainly a smaller, indie production, it has the gravitas of a gripping blockbuster. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film, and if you don’t mind ambiguity and somewhat disorienting storytelling, I believe you will enjoy Climate Of The Hunter As Well.
I have to praise the extremely creative nature of this film, which is told in multiple segments, for the sheer imagination that must have gone into the production. I only wish that the lessons and morals were a bit more accessible. Perhaps the point of the story is the twisted nature of reality. How much of your day to day life is an illusion? Who can see themselves in Ginger Gilmartin’s incredible performance as Alma? Who knows the pain of strife with your blood relatives, and how does that stress affect your perception?
Something that can be seen as beautiful or quite vexing is the many interpretations possible through this film’s story. Climate Of The Hunter is a horror story, a family melodrama, and an indescribable arthouse experiment all in one.
If you do take my advice and check out Climate of the Hunter, which arrives in digital and VOD on Jan 12th, 2021, please reach out to us with your interpretations of this mysterious thriller. You can let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media pages!
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