Universal has scrapped the release of ‘The Hunt,’ a dark satire that depicts liberal elites hunting down middle-American “deplorables” for sport. The decision comes after three mass shootings and criticism from President Trump.
Originally scheduled for release at the end of September, ‘The Hunt’ depicted a hellish world in which rich liberals capture and hunt ordinary, decent, Donald Trump-voting “deplorables” for fun. In the movie, a band of captives arm themselves and take the fight back to their blue-state tormentors.
However, Universal ran into trouble when three mass shootings in Texas, Ohio, and California left 36 dead in the space of a week, days after the release of the movie’s trigger-happy trailer. After pulling some TV and internet ads, the studio finally scrapped the release of ‘The Hunt’ entirely on Saturday, stating “now is not the right time to release this film.”
The movie was also seemingly criticized by Trump on Friday. Though he did not name it directly, Trump tweeted that “the movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!,” after a rant accusing Hollywood at large of racism.
Some of the MAGA crowd were outraged at the premise of the movie. “Leftists are making movies about killing you and want to disarm you,”tweeted conservative talk show host John Cardillo. A pro-Trump student group described the R-rated thriller as “beyond sick.”
Amid the storm of indignation, most of the movie’s conservative detractors seem to have missed the message that in ‘The Hunt,’ the deplorables are the heroes. From the trailer at least, the movie tells the story of a band of regular folk taking revenge on a cruel, uncaring elite that wants them dead.