Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.

Director:

Taika Waititi

Writers:

Barry Crump (based on the book by), Taika Waititi (screenplay)

Stars:

Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rachel House

Cast

Credited cast:
Julian Dennison	...	Ricky Baker
Sam Neill	...	Uncle Hec
Rachel House	...	Paula
Rima Te Wiata	...	Aunt Bella
Oscar Kightley
Rhys Darby	...	Psycho Sam
Cohen Holloway
Mike Minogue
Stan Walker
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hamish Parkinson
Yvette Parsons	...	Hiker
Lloyd Scott

Storyline

A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2016 (New Zealand)

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Company Credits

Production Co:

Piki Films, Defender Films, Curious Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fourth film directed by Taika Waititi to premiere at Sundance Festival, after Eagle Vs Shark, Boy and What We Do In The Shadows, which all won critical acclaim.

User Reviews

Has heart and is genuinely funny

Taika Waititi is starting to make some real waves in the film making industry. It's as simple as this - every film he makes, people like. In fact, people like them so much he's been trusted with the directorial duties in the next 'Thor' film 'Thor: Ragnarok'. That's big and shows people trust him with making their film. That decision was made prior to the release of 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' but I can confirm that this film will do his reputation no harm. In fact it's going to do it a lot of good. It's a very fine film and in my opinion his best yet.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'What We Do in the Shadows' but my one qualm with it was I felt it lacked a story to drive the humour. The man learns from his errors fast though and there is no such problem here. The story, while simple, is a driving force and makes sure things never get mundane or boring. Also helping this is a terrific cast of actors. Julian Dennison in the lead role blew me away and showed comedic timing far beyond his years. Sam Neill was as fantastic as ever and every cameo throughout is terrific and hilarious in its own way.

The film not only manages to make us laugh though, it also has a heart. There are some very sad and moving elements to the film which are handled exquisitely by Waititi. He makes us think and sobers us occasionally but never takes us away from the fun time we're having with the story. There's a lot more to the film than I expected going in. It has layers and works on a lot of levels. I can't say enough good things about this film. An absolute pleasure to sit through.