Violent satire ‘The Hunt’ cancelled after Trump tweet, numerous mass shootings

After a handful of violent mass shootings and a particularly pointed tweet from the US President, a controversial movie is no more.

A day after President Trump took aim at a controversial movie where the world’s “elite” openly “hunted” Republicans, the studio behind The Hunt has cancelled the film.

Universal Pictures, the studio behind The Hunt, had already paused its marketing campaign for the violent satire, but in a statement today announced it would be going one step further.

“While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film,” a Universal Pictures spokesman said in a statement.

“We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.”

Betty Gilpin in The Hunt. Picture: Universal Pictures

The film, a gory, R-rated thriller that tells a tale of liberal “elites” hunting people in red states for sport starred Oscar winner Hilary Swank and Betty Gilpin, and was directed by Craig Zobel.

The studio’s decision comes in the wake of numerous mass shootings where dozens of Americans in two separate states were killed by guns.

The Hunt centres on 12 supposedly red states, Republican Americans who are kidnapped and wake up in a forest only to realise they’re being stalked as a game concocted by the “liberal elite”.

The movie was produced by Blumhouse, an independent filmmaker best known for horror films including The Purge and Paranormal Activity but also the Oscar-winning Black KkKlansman.

Hilary Swank in The Hunt. Picture: Supplied

The movie was due to hit screens on September 27.

President Trump also took aim at the film — while not naming it directly — accusing it of being made to “inflame and cause chaos”.

....to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2019

President Trump doubled down on his criticism of the filmmakers while talking to reporters earlier this week.

“Hollywood, I don’t call them the elites. I think the elites are the people they go after in many cases. But Hollywood is really terrible,” Mr Trump said.

“What they’re doing, with the kind of movie they’re putting out, it’s actually very dangerous for our country. What Hollywood is doing is a tremendous disservice to our country.”

The film, originally titled Red State vs Blue State, made numerous references to current US politics.

“At least the hunt’s coming up. Nothing better than going out to the Manor and slaughtering a dozen deplorables,” one character said in a trailer for the film, referencing a nickname for Trump supporters.