Writer and director, Annick Blanc, brings their feature film debut, Hunting Daze, to this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Screening as part of the Midnight section of programming, the French-Canadian thriller serves all the ingredients for on-screen disaster when an exotic dancer is forced to seek sanctuary with a bachelor party on a hunting trip.
From reading the premise, many may think that they have Hunting Daze all figured out. These people though are likely wrong as Annick Blanc subverts expectations. After falling out with her manager on the side of the road, Nina (Nahéma Ricci) begs Kevin (Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi) to let her hang out with him and his friends who are celebrating an impending wedding. Kevin takes pity on Nina and takes her back to the cabin to introduce her to his friends. There they discuss her fate. A woman, especially one with a provocative working background, alone with a group of men in an isolated location, does not historically end well. However, rather than be attacked by the men, Nina is accepted by them. She is initiated into their ‘wolf pack’ and is treated like a brother and equal. It is instead the arrival of another that sets tragedy in motion.
Shortly after Nina has been welcomed, a man called Dudos (Noubi Ndiaye) arrives. Things start well, but after an accident leaves someone injured, the group begins to fracture apart. Blanc then spends time marinating in the after effects of the incident. But once again, Blanc is careful to stay away from tired tropes. The story that plays out in the aftermath offers a new direction to the norm, and it is in this section that Hunting Daze is its most compelling. Watching the group trying to come up with a plan of action, with new recruit Nina firmly stuck in the middle, is an interesting dynamic. Especially with the injury itself not being quite as drastic as these types of story often rely on.
Add into this several prolonged sequences of various substances being confused and the arena is set for a very trippy final act. There’s blood rain and mayhem as the glue that binds the pack slowly begins to dissolve. Blanc also uses this section to insert beautiful visual flourishes; the inclusion of some interesting layered and cross faded images help to reinforce the out-of-time sensation the group is experiencing as a side effect to the drug.
That Nina is never a victim, even during her initial stranding, is another strong point of Blanc’s script. At no point does she allow herself to be bullied by those around her. Even when things don’t go her way, Nina at least feels in control of her destiny. That she never has to be broken to be allowed to become strong is a welcome respite from Hunting Daze’s anticipated rape revenge narrative. Her strength and self-belief is the perfect palette cleanser to many of its peers and enriches Hunting Daze as a result. When added to its unique story, Hunting Daze announces Annick Blanc as an interesting storyteller to keep an eye on.
Hunting Daze
Summary
In changing up expected tropes and deviating from the predicted path, Hunting Daze is a fascinating debut feature.
Hunting Daze was reviewed at SXSW 2024.
