Review: The Wild Hunt

I was super excited yesterday, when I noticed one of the new movies available on Netflix Instant was The Wild Hunt. For those of you not in the know, The Wild Hunt was an Indie film that was considered to be the closest thing to Mazes and Monsters for LARP. You know, everything's fun and games at a LARP event until someone takes it too seriously.

To start off, I was really impressed at the quality of the movie. At the beginning I was a little worried, as some of Lyn's lines were hard to hear, but soon after I felt like I was watching a movie from a major studio.

The movie's portrayal of LARP is amazing. Sure, some of the characters are a little tongue-in-cheek when representing stereotypical LARP archetypes (like the male plot member dressed like a faerie), but ultimately they do a good job of integrating IG elements of a LARP with OOG interactions, making it seem like the characters weren't one-sided or obsessed with the game.

Without giving spoilers, the movie takes a dark turn at the end, and is actually pretty brutal. However, I think this was done very well, without it seeming like the LARP itself caused brutality, like the aformentioned Mazes and Monsters. But I certainly wouldn't show that part to kids or people who want to know what LARP is.

All and all, it's worth giving a watch. I'd probably note it as slightly more realistic in it's portrayal of LARP than Role Models, but I think I'll still stick to Role Models when showing someone who's never LARPed what LARP is.