by Shannon Hilson, MoreHorror.com

If you like your horror movies with a little bit of crime drama thrown in for good measure, then The Hunters just might be a good pick for you. It powers its way onto DVD shelves just in time for New Year’s Eve on December 27th thanks to the good folks over at Lionsgate Entertainment.

Directed by Chris Briant and starring Steve Waddington (Sleepy Hollow) and Dianna Agron (TV’s Glee), The Hunters covers familiar territory and puts its own spin on how things ultimately play out. It follows a group of high school friends who decide to spend a little time in the woods that were previously off limits to them. However, they naturally get a lot more than they bargained for. They’re not alone… and then there’s that mysterious cabin with the bloody walls to figure out. Hrm…

The Hunters gets rolling via something of a slow burn, so don’t expect to pop this one into the DVD player and see blood flying or scary things happening right off the bat or anything. This one actually takes the time to develop the characters and construct a strong plot first, which I really liked about it. Blood and gore are fine and dandy… but they don’t scare me in and of themselves. If I don’t care about the characters and fail to be drawn in by the storyline, then no amount of carnage will ever be scary to me.

In fact, I felt the characters were among the strongest features of this film. I was interested in how they thought and I felt invested in what happened to all of them. I even found myself identifying with the decisions they made. That’s always a good sign. The actors were also excellent and did a great job at helping their characters come to life. I especially enjoyed Dianna Agron’s performance. I’m no Glee fan, but seeing her in The Hunters helped me appreciate at least her acting chops a little more.

I also thought the filming and plot construction were terrific. This film was a pleasure to watch visually. The story also really did intrigue me and keep me guessing. I enjoyed the way they followed two storylines simultaneously and intertwined the two of them with a big finish. As such, The Hunters gave me more to chew on than films with a similar plotline. I’ve seen a lot of horror movies by now, so I really appreciated that.

Now… this isn’t to say that there isn’t any blood or carnage for people who want plenty of that in their horror movies. There is… but it’s not constant or immediate. You have to wait for the really big stuff, and I personally felt the pay-off was worth it. I don’t want to give too much away for those who haven’t yet seen this, but there is a psychological element to the type of horror movie and a couple of powerful visuals included in this is that I also found very cool and quite frightening.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. I also think it would make a decent addition to your repertoire of holiday horror movies if you’re looking for something fresh, since this does take place around holiday time. I certainly think it’s worth picking up and checking out at least once.