Human-Hunting Film Set for Release after Trump 'Racist' Row

"The Hunt," a movie in which elites kill "ordinary Americans" for entertainment that was pulled out last year after sparking outrage, will finally release next month, Universal Pictures said Tuesday.

The film was scheduled for release last September but drew the ire of Republicans like President Donald Trump, who seemed to condemn it as "racial."

The plot of "The Hunt," pulled throughout the country after a series of mass shootings, sees people who have been kidnapped from traditional Republican bastions like Wyoming, Mississippi, and Orlando, Florida waking up in a field surrounded by "elite" hunters, proceeding to shoot them down.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, wealthy characters in the movie refer to their prey as "deplorable," a term used by Hillary Clinton to describe Trump supporters during her 2016 presidential run against Trump.

"The most talked-about movie of the year is the one nobody has seen... yet," Universal said in a statement announcing its new March 13 release date.

Apparently embracing the controversy, a poster for the movie has a quote attributed to Fox News reading: "Shows Hollywood for what it really is... demented and evil."

"Exploitative rather than opinionated," reads another, alongside the film's previous release date, which has been crossed out.

Last August, Universal explained its decision to postpone the "satirical social thriller" because "now is not the right time to release the film."

The announcement came just days following deadly mass shootings at a Music concert in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, as well as a weapons spree.

Following the shootings adverts for the film had already been pulled — but the film nevertheless drew Trump's wrath.

"The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos," tweeted Trump at the time, without referring to "The Hunt" by name.

Hollywood creates "their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!" he added.

In an interview published Tuesday, producer Jason Blum told The Hollywood Reporter, "None of us were interested in taking sides with this project"

"The audience is smart enough to know that what they're seeing is a satire and it's preposterous," he added.

Source: AFP