ALSO AVAILABLE
THE HUNT (15)
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HUNTERS become prey in this satirical social thriller directed by Craig Zobel.
Anchored by eye-catching performances from Betty Gilpin and two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Zobel’s showdown between workingclass “deplorables” and wealthy “liberal elites” doesn’t stint on the stomachchurning splatter.
Twelve strangers – including car rental company employee Crystal (Gilpin) and podcast conspiracy theorist Gary (Ethan Suplee) – regain consciousness, to find gags padlocked to their mouths. They have all been drugged and kidnapped in different states then transplanted to a forest clearing, supposedly in Arkansas.
When rifle shots ring out, the stricken strangers realise the whispers online must be true. They are being hunted for sickening sport by well-to-do Athena (Swank), and her cohorts.
While some of the 12 blunder into traps, Crystal demonstrates surprising tactical nous to retaliate against her attackers.
The blood-soaked battle royale shifts to a remote manor house where hunters gather to toast an end to the slaughter. ■ Streaming and available to download from various platforms.
PREVIEW: ANNE FRANK: PARALLEL STORIES (12)
TO MARK the 90th anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth, film-makers Sabina Fedeli and Anna Migotto work closely with the Anne Frank Foundation to retell the German-born teenager’s life through the pages of her diary, read by Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren, pictured.
The film invites audiences to step inside Anne’s room within her family’s secret annex and contrasts the written words with the experiences of five women – Andra and Tatiana Bucci, Sarah Lichtsztejn-Montard, Arianna Szorenyi and Helga Weiss – who were deported to concentration camps during the Second World War and survived their ordeal.
These parallel stories of courage and resilience paint a vivid and moving picture of young lives under Nazi rule. ■ Available from tomorrow on Amazon Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/ Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, and from May 4 on DVD.