5/6/19 - The Head Hunter (2018) -6-/10

Spartan and stylish. It’s plot is John Wick outline-esque, that is to say, non existent, but it deeply exhales mood and mastery. Essentially, it is “monster killer kills monsters, taking their heads, all while searching for the monster that killed his daughter”. Done. That’s it. Do not expect more. But, really, what more do you need when it is done well and is so damn cool?

The production design here is quite good. Some of it is a tad cartoony, but I love the rustic lived in ancient pseudo European/Norse aesthetic. A hard if not broken man, living to kill, while pushing himself to his edges, as he pushes everything else. It is the little things, shining light in the bleak vastness of the beautiful mountains and majestic woods. The torn leather of his faded leather helm...the creaky misaligned shudders of his ramshackle abode...the disgusting viscous concoctions, rustily chained to keep them secure and their mysteries aloof...The creation of this world worked and fascinated. The magic was real, figuratively and literally.

This film lacked the depth, characters, story and ideas to have it break through the melancholic clouds and critical soil, securing its bitter grave in the fun genre exercise coffin. But that doesn’t mean, for the right audience like myself, that this skeleton can’t emerge and wreak solemn bloody carnage in my fervently fertile imagination. I enjoyed this quiet and introspective fantasy drama/thriller, and you may too.