Hunting Season

Bowdrie is a reclusive survivalist who lives off the grid with his teenage daughter, Tag. One day they pull a badly wounded woman, January, from a river and take her in to recover. What seems like a simple act of mercy soon draws violent attention, as loose threads from January's past lead to armed men and escalating revenge. Bowdrie and Tag have to defend their land and each other while decisions about trust, loyalty, and violence pile up. The story keeps its focus tight on the family unit and the mounting danger, without revealing how the conflicts ultimately resolve.

Released in 2025, Hunting Season was directed by Raja Collins from an original concept by Adam Hampton, and it stars Mel Gibson, Shelley Hennig, Jordi Mollà, Sofia Hublitz, and A.J. Buckley. The film leaned into a stripped-down production style, emphasizing practical stunts and tense close-quarters sequences.

Critical and audience responses trended positive, reflected in a 7.1/10 user rating from 103 votes. Reviewers and viewers often singled out Gibson and Hennig for their chemistry and committed performances, and many noted the movie's steady pacing and gritty set pieces. The film centers on moral questions around protection and retaliation, and it examines how far people will go to shield family when law and order are absent.

The movie sparked conversation online about modern takes on vigilantism and survivalist culture, with particular attention to its moral ambiguity and the physical, almost old-school approach to action scenes. Scenes of rustic tactics and close combat showed up in clips and fan discussion, and Gibson's return to this kind of role was a recurring topic among critics and social media threads.

Hunting Season opened with a fairly limited theatrical run and modest commercial returns, attracting most of its viewers through streaming and word-of-mouth rather than blockbuster box office figures. The film found a steady audience among fans of tense, character-driven thrillers.