[Review] Much Like Medieval Armor 'The Head Hunter' Is Beautiful But Slow
Solitude is a complicated thing. It can be depressing, lonesome, frightening, beautiful, peaceful, or sometimes just downright boring. Despite its shoestring budget and simple narrative, Jordan Downey’s The Head Hunter finds a way to convey all of these emotions through exceptional visual story-telling and a compelling performance from Christopher Rygh.
In the film, a medieval warrior lives alone on the outskirts of civilization. He hunts and kills the monsters that plague his fellow man as he waits for the day that he can exact revenge on the beast that killed his daughter.
I was absolutely shocked to learn that this film was made on a budget of $30K. The production design and cinematography are top notch, and the shots are reminiscent of the natural lighting used to film The Witch. The color palette is simultaneously bleak and beautiful, truly capturing the mood and giving the viewer a real sense of place. All of this combined with the impeccable set design work to pull the viewer into the movie’s reality.
The exquisite visuals are complemented by Christopher Rygh’s understated performance. Rygh manages to accomplish a lot with subtle body language, as a good chunk of the time his character’s face is obscured by armor (extremely badass armor, I might add). We feel so much of the character without much overt emoting.
While there is plenty to applaud in The Head Hunter, the film certainly has its flaws. I can’t help but feel that underneath that beautiful armor and beyond the impressive photography, there isn’t that much else going on. Despite the short runtime at an hour and twelve minutes, the movie somehow feels like a bit of a slog. There is just not enough story here to stretch out over a feature length film. Yes, we’ve got a main character with a powerful emotional backstory and a strong motivation to fulfill his need/goal, but the near absence of any other characters or complications makes this movie feel like it would have been better off as part of an anthology, or perhaps even as an episode of Shudder’s Creepshow. As a result, some of the runtime seems like filler - beautifully shot filler, but filler nonetheless.
And while I love the bonkers climax and the monster’s attempts to use our main character’s own pain against him, the third act was devoid of the emotional impact that I was hoping for. I suppose in a story about a broken character living in solitude, the stakes can only feel so high. On top of that, the quick cuts and strategic editing during the film’s finale, while understandably necessary considering the low budget for creature effects, took me out of the story and distracted me from the head hunter’s plight.
So while The Head Hunter succeeds in capturing the beauty of our hero’s dutiful life of solitude via gorgeous cinematography and nuanced acting, it also, for me, captured a bit too much of the boredom of such a lonesome endeavor. Despite my ambivalence, I encourage you to check this movie out as there are many horror fans out there who consider this one of the best releases of 2019. I do admire the hustle, elbow grease, and raw talent that it took to make a movie that looks much bigger than its budget, and I look forward to whatever content Jordan Downey and co-writer/cinematographer Kevin Stewart have in store for us next.
- Brian Bisesi
The Head Hunter is currently streaming on Shudder.
