{"id":7567,"date":"2013-07-02T09:42:38","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=7567"},"modified":"2013-07-02T09:42:38","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:42:38","slug":"hunting-grounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=7567","title":{"rendered":"Hunting Grounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indie filmmakers don’t often tackle the science fiction genre\u2014the cost and logistics of creating a believable futuristic world is often far beyond their meager budgets. That ambition is partially what makes the sci-fi\/horror hybrid Hunting Grounds so notable, as director Eric Bilodeau takes viewers to a self-contained city in the not-too-distant future, where population and access to the outside world are strictly controlled. Fondly remembering his hunting trips in the real outdoors with his grandfather, city resident Paul (Patrice Leblanc) enlists a grizzled tracker (Patrick Baby) to organize a risky trip outside the heavily guarded walls to relive old glory. But unbeknownst to Paul and his friends (one of whom is the son of a high ranking government official), scientists in a nearby military installation are testing a serum that regenerates human tissue. Only it works a little too well, and now the reanimated dead are now roaming the same woods where the hunters are hiding out. Making heavy use of CGI–some reasonably convincing and some not–Hunting Grounds is pretty impressive for a small, independent film. Unfortunately the plot doesn’t get quite the same attention it starts out promising as the hunters sneak out of the city, but the eventual zombie showdown climax has already been done (and done much better), so it’s a little disappointing when the story turns down this well-worn path. Still, Hunting Grounds is decidedly unique and very slickly shot. In particular, Canadians will appreciate how Bilodeau manages to incorporate both French and English dialogue and makes very specific use of the film’s Northern Quebec setting.