Open Season (1974)

Director:

Peter Collinson

Writers:

Liz Charles-Williams (writer)
David D. Osborn (novel)

Release Date:

August 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Meet Ken, Gregg and Art. Two weeks each year they get away... with Everything!

Plot:

Three young men take a young woman and a middleaged man to an isolated cabin, where they are terrorized in different ways.

Plot Keywords:

Victim | Cabin | Hunting | Manhunt | Kidnapping

Cast

Peter Fonda	...	Ken
Cornelia Sharpe	...	Nancy Stillman
John Phillip Law	...	Greg
Richard Lynch	...	Art
Alberto de Mendoza	...	Martin
William Holden	...	Hal Wolkowski
Helga Liné	...	Sue
Didi Sherman	...	Helen
Concha Cuetos	...	Joyce
May Heatherly	...	Alicia Rennick
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Simón Andreu	...	Barman
Jerry Boudreaux	...	Niño
Frank Braña
Jaime Doria
Mabel Escaño	...	Waitress
Blanca Estrada	...	Alice Rennick
Amory Fitzpatrick	...	Niña
Norma Kastel	...	Annie (as Norma Castell)
William Layton	...	District Attorney
Gudrun McCleary	...	Mrs. Rennick
Scott Miller
Beatriz Savón	...	Sandy
Loreta Tovar	...	Moonmaid (as Loli Tovar)
Mike Zambeck	...	Niño

Also Known As:

Los cazadores (Spain)
The Recon Game

Runtime:

Australia:104 min | Norway:104 min | Spain:100 min | USA:104 min

Country:

Spain | Switzerland | UK | USA | Argentina

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1974) | West Germany:18 (nf) | Australia:R | France:X (original rating) | Norway:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | USA:R | Norway:18 (video rating) | Norway:(Banned) (1975-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Arpa Productions

Trivia:

The interior scenes inside of the hunting lodge were all filmed on a soundstage at Pinewood Studios in England on a life-sized set. The opening scenes at Kenny's house and the exterior scenes on the island were all filmed on location in Spain. Additional "highway" scenes were probably filmed in Northern Michigan by a 2nd unit crew.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ken and Artie climb the bluff, Ken is carrying a bolt action rifle. But after they split up and Ken returns to the lodge, he enters the cabin carrying a pump action shotgun. The rifle is never seen again.

Soundtrack:

Casting Shadows

Memorable for its disturbing imprint

This was one of the first really well "designed-to-disturb" movies that I ever watched. The impact to the viewer is not achieved through overly-graphic violence, although it is violent in nature, but by craftily inducing empathy for the desperate situation of the hunted, juxtaposed with the bleak portrayal of raw and unrelenting evil exhibited by the group-thinking hunters. This is well done through a meandering sequence of action shots and brilliantly framed by the contrasting peaceful and beautiful North American scenery and a curious and intriguing score. This is not a movie of memorable dialogue but one of highly disturbing action sequence in a sustained act of cruelty. Unfortunately the evil and its impact are far too believable for comfort. The Vietnam allusion and vigilante character (Holden) are peripheral to the essence of the movie and if anything detract, seemingly there to provide an excuse for the exposure of the evil and some end resolution for good, respectively. Whilst this may have been at one point central to the message in the creator's mind, as it worked out neither is warranted given the core impact of the film.