Hunting Grounds

Chloe Marvino flees her Mafia-linked husband with her two children, desperate for a place to hide. She finds temporary refuge in a secluded cabin where a withdrawn drifter named Jake agrees to let them stay. As Chloe tries to breathe easier and keep her kids safe, danger from her husband's henchmen tightens the circle around them. Suspicion grows between Chloe and Jake, and small acts of kindness and suspicion carry heavy weight. The movie keeps the tension close to the characters, shifting from quiet domestic unease to sudden violence while withholding key revelations about Jake's past and his true motives.

Created by Derek Barnes, James Mark, and James McDougall, Hunting Grounds premiered in 2025. Emily Alatalo, Tim Rozon, and Patrick Garrow lead the cast in this original screenplay, produced as an independent feature with a compact crew and limited locations.

Hunting Grounds had a limited theatrical run and reached most viewers through streaming and VOD, earning modest commercial returns and a niche audience rather than wide multiplex exposure, later finding additional viewers on international streaming services and reached overseas viewers.

The film prompted discussion for flipping the protector role, and Alatalo's portrayal sparked online threads debating trust and moral ambiguity in violent settings. Its cabin standoff scenes have been replayed in genre roundups and fan clips, inspiring fan art and essays on character reversals, and sparked debate among thriller writers.

Reviews were mixed to positive, praising tense pacing, strong performances by Alatalo and Rozon, and the film's focus on survival, loyalty, and suspicion. Some critics found plot developments uneven, but many appreciated the sustained atmosphere, tight runtime, and morally fraught tension between characters. Viewers praised the chemistry despite logic gaps.