Netflix horror movie that was banned in the US after Donald Trump's comments available to watch in UK
If you're in search of something new to watch, why not try this horror film which ended up sparking a political row and riling up Donald Trump in the process?
The flick, directed by Craig Zobel, caused quite the splash across the pond ahead of it's eventual release in March 2020.
But if you are a Brit who fancies finding out what all the fuss was about, you will be glad to know that UK viewers can catch it on Netflix anytime you like.
Take a look at the trailer here:
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The Hunt is a film which managed to attract and retain the attention of President Donald Trump for a fair chunk of time - which is something which Zobel still struggles to explain 'how that even feels', he previously told USA Today.
Despite the star-studded satirical horror ending up at the centre of quite the controversy, the director insists ruffling the feathers of US politicians was 'not the goal'.
Still, the entire plot of the black comedy does sort of hinge on the nation's divide over who they want in the White House.
In The Hunt, a dozen 'deplorables' - AKA, working class Americans - are kidnapped from across the US and then chased down for sport by a group of liberal elites. Think Squid Game, but without the constantly growing prize pot.
As the group is picked off one by one - in extremely bloody fashion - Crystal (Betty Gilpin) goes on a mad rampage, turning the hunters very much into the hunted.
The synopsis for the film reads: "Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are or how they got there.
"In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted, Crystal, turns the tables on her pursuers."
The cast is made up of some incredible talent too, including American Horror Story actress Emma Roberts, My Name is Earl's Ethan Suplee, Bad Neighbours actor Ike Barinholtz and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Glenn Howerton.
According to the director, the film was supposed to showcase how 'people rush to assume something' about someone 'just based on them being 'the other team'.
As well as conspiracy theories, The Hunt also shined a light on just how quickly false narratives can spread on social media and lead to consequences in the real world.
Which is where Trump, 78, and his longstanding rival Hillary Clinton come into this.
The hostages in The Hunt are dubbed the 'deplorables' in an apparent reference to a comment Clinton made during a speech ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
At a campaign fundraising event in September that year, the then-Democratic nominee said: "To just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the 'basket of deplorables'."
So, there's one reason for Trump not to like Zobel's movie. But that's not all.
The Hunt was originally supposed to be released on 27 September, 2019 - however, it's release was pulled following two mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas.
Universal Pictures opted to defer it's release to 13 March, 2020, as it was 'not the right time' for the world to see it.
Trump seemed to support this move - as he took to X to share a scathing post in which he claimed The Hunt was made 'to inflame and cause chaos'.
The President fumed at the time: "Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate! They like to call themselves 'Elite', but they are not Elite.
"In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite. The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos.
"They create their own violence, and then try to blame others," he continued. "They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!"
Six months later, The Hunt was finally released, despite Trump's comments.
Zobel said his 'heart sank' when he got wind that the politician had something to say about his project.
"I felt like whatever happened, he wasn't tweeting about our movie," the filmmaker said in 2020. "He was tweeting about what someone told him our movie was."
The second date didn't turn out much better either, as most cinemas were shut within a week of it's release due to coronavirus. As a result, it became available digitally just seven days later.
And luckily for us lot, it's available to stream on Netflix right now.
Topics: Donald Trump, TV and Film, Netflix, US News, Conspiracy Theory
Olivia Burke