Have you heard of Universal’s upcoming film The Hunt?

Here’s how Fox News sums it up:

The Hunt, which initially was going to be titled Red State vs. Blue State, is billed as a satire that follows wealthy thrill-seekers as they take a private jet to a five-star resort, where they embark on a “deeply rewarding” expedition that involves hunting down and killing “deplorables,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

THR offers a few lines from the screenplay:

“Did anyone see what our ratf***er-in-chief just did?” one character asks early in the screenplay for The Hunt, a Universal Pictures thriller set to open Sept. 27. Another responds: “At least The Hunt’s coming up. Nothing better than going out to the Manor and slaughtering a dozen deplorables.”

Here’s a bit more about the flick:

The Hunt stars Betty Gilpin from GLOW and Hilary Swank, representing opposite sides of the political divide. It features guns blazing along with other ultra-violent killings as the elites pick off their prey. The script from (Lost co-creator and showrunner) Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter revolves around third-rail political themes.

Ready to buy your advance tickets?

As much as they’re presumably excited about the new release, Universal’s had some second thoughts since last weekend’s deadly mass shootings (here, here, here, here, and here):

In the wake of a trio of deadly massacres, the studio is evaluating its strategy for the R-rated Blumhouse satire in which elites stalk “deplorables.”

A bit of the negative Twitter response:

‘The Hunt’ sounds like something Leftists would actually like to do to Conservatives. — John Betts (@JohnFromCranber) August 8, 2019

Could you imagine if this was about hunting O'bama or Hillary supporter's? The Maker's of the movie would be in prison — Vance Matthew Kosloff (@VKosloff) August 8, 2019

What kind of sicko comes up with this stuff? What kind of sicko would watch it? I think I know the answer. — Hegge (@erichegge0320) August 8, 2019

I think this is domestic terrorizing and charges should be brought against the film makers and the actors. They are inciting violence and domestic war — americangirl (@america74952738) August 9, 2019

“And as we flush our humanity down the toilet, we ask you you to tune in again next week….” — Eric Langston (@eric_langst0n) August 8, 2019

So these are the people that want to confiscate guns. Ok. — Reformed_Wall (@ref_wall2) August 9, 2019

This is sick. Time to #boycottuniversalpictures Stop with the hate. — countryfn 🇺🇸 (@fanofcountry12) August 9, 2019

Sickening — leaper (@leaper99) August 8, 2019

Apparently a documentary — Nancy Morrison (@NanMorr) August 8, 2019

On Friday, the rat– I mean, President Trump — chimed in on the controversy, following several ads for the coastal-elites-hunting-MAGA-supporters-like-wild-animals extravaganza being pulled. His message? Hollywood is the racist blight:

“Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate! They like to call themselves ‘Elite,’ but they are not Elite. In fact, it is often the people that they so strongly oppose that are actually the Elite. The movie coming out is made in order 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!”

….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

Strong words. And yet, not nearly as harsh as those heaped upon the President routinely by those in left-wing power.

But is all the conservative backlash rightful? Watch the trailer and tell me: Who appear to be the villains?

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I love movies; they’re one of my favorite things. But it’s not hard to imagine that a story of Republicans and Democrats killing each other may not make a positive contribution to the current climate. It’s not incumbent upon celluloid to save the world, but was this project a good idea? What will the impact be?

I want to hear from you. Let us all know your thoughts.

-ALEX

Relevant RedState links in this article: here, here, here, here, and here.

Find all my RedState work here.

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