Working the graveyard shift in a furniture factory, janitor Karen (Natalie Terrazzino) finds herself facing a fight for her life when a gang of masked intruders break in, apparently set on slicing her to bits.
Directed by Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen, Hunt Her, Kill Her (you see what they did there) boasts a simple premise – Die Hard meets The Strangers in a perilous industrial warehouse. In Terrazzino, the film finds a strong lead, and Swinson and Thiessen, put through a whole gauntlet of violence and abuse. Filmed in the Tennessee
hometown of The Evil Dead, this brutal action thriller shares DNA with the Sam Raimi classic (plus a brick borrowed from the original cabin) – and this can be deeply felt in the directors’ treatment of their Ash, single mother factory worker Karen.
The action beats and horrifying gore are perhaps surprising, given the shaky start it gets off to. Thankfully, Terrazzino soon finds her feet, and once the would-be killers break-in, the film never lets up until its grisly, unpredictable end.
The budget may be low – evident in the unpleasant visuals and some grimace-worthy performances from Karen’s attackers – but the action is well done. Employing gloopy practical effects and putting the many warehouse tools and environmental kills surrounding Karen to good use, Hunt Her, Kill Her is a particularly nasty genre work.
HUNT HER, KILL HER is out April 26th.
