Film Review: HUNTING DAZE: Nahéma Ricci Gives a Strong Performance in a Dark Look at Trust and Survival [SXSW 2024]

Hunting Daze Review

Hunting Daze (2024) Film Review from the 31st Annual South by Southwest Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Annick Blanc and starring Nahéma Ricci, Marc Beaupré, Maxime Genois, Alexandre Landry, Bruno Marcil and Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi.

Hunting Daze, directed by Annick Blanc, doesn’t let up in terms of on-screen tension but, at the same time, it doesn’t allow the story to have too much unpredictability to it. We always know things are going to go sour for the lead character regardless of moments of apparent happiness or acceptance that are integrated into the story line. The movie creates a sense of dread right from the first moments and doesn’t even hint (at any point) that the movie has a chance at going anywhere pleasant even if something positive does, indeed, happen. Though the viewer may be put off by the dark tone of the picture, Blanc has more than a few surprises in store for audience members who stick this film out from beginning to end.

Meanwhile, the lead performance by Nahéma Ricci in the film’s major role as Nina, is very hard to decipher. She gets out of a disturbing situation with a pimp as the movie begins and chooses to stay behind in the woods with some rowdy men whom she entertained for a bachelor party. Is she indirectly looking for trouble or does she expect these guys to have some sort of control and decency around her? Either way, Hunting Daze is very forceful and interesting to watch and it’s hard to look away from the screen as the simple, yet volatile plot unfolds.

Nina is an adult entertainer, by trade, who has done things that are a bit risque for cash. She joins the “bad will hunting” boys in a moment of confusion and things slowly grow more intense as the film progresses. She does initiation exercises with them and more or less learns the nature of how they interact with one another.

Bruno Marcil expertly plays the head of the group of men the film showcases. This is a bunch of guys who you probably wouldn’t want to hang out with unless your idea of a good time is drinking nonstop with no clear goal in mind other than to hunt deer. Where the film surprises is in its revelation that Nina could be just one of the guys underneath her female exterior and she may just have what it takes to defend herself should any of these men choose to get out of line.

The plot thickens when a migrant drug dealer shows up where he clearly doesn’t belong. This guy is totally out of his element among these people and things, as predicted, slowly spiral out of control. There is an accidental shooting which further complicates the plot and the movie becomes not only a fight for survival but a character study of who Nina truly is. This film explores what she must do in order to feel justified in her morals and her decision-making process. There are a lot of potential decisions she may make and the movie lets the viewer relate to Nina more than was expected from the film’s opening scenes.

Ricci commands the audience’s attention whether she’s wearing a blindfold or trying to figure out a way to outsmart the men in her company, perhaps even one in particular. Nina clearly would have been better off leaving these men after her time with them was “up” but she couldn’t so she outstays her welcome and, more or less, pays the price through consequences as a result. This film shows the dark side of human nature but, also, serves as a movie that is an exercise in nerve-wracking tension. Ricci holds the movie together in the more disturbing moments as her character is always one who seems out of her element but this character may just surprise viewers by the time the picture concludes.

Hunting Daze is well directed by Blanc who also wrote the picture. This film is dark and its tone is admirably consistent throughout. There’s no turning back for Nina and by the time the movie concludes, there are quite a few lessons in human nature which are revealed through the events that occur in the picture. It’s an interesting film and Ricci deserves commendation for her riveting turn. It’s one of those movies that plays better in the dark given its extremely dire themes.

Rating: 7/10

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