It’s time for the hunted to become the hunters in this action-packed film from director Elizabeth Blake-Thomas.

Upon her return from a vacation with partner Tessa, college professor Cassandra meets young Jackson and his father Carter at a diner. Carter tells Cassandra that he is inviting Jackson to go on his first hunt in the upcoming weekend. Carter makes an offer to Cassandra to join them in the hunt where the winner would receive $100,000. She agrees and upon her arrival with the father-son duo she meet some of the follow hunters on the trip.

Little does Cassandra know is that she is going to be part of the hunt, but not as she expected. After a night of boozing, Cassandra finds herself kidnapped along with other females. Carter’s hunt involves having alpha males from around the world betting on who will live and who will die within a time limit. The hunt is led by both Carter and the maniacal Virgil. With no other choice, Cassandra must find the strength within to go from being the hunted to becoming the hunter.

Co-written by David Lipper and John Saunders, this action packed film has the two dynamic forces of “female empowerment” and “toxic masculinity” and putting them together in a nice little package. The story of a schoolteacher forced into a hunt by a band of redneck alpha males to prove that they are still the dominating gender is well played out thanks to the performances of the ensemble cast.

Mena Suvari goes from damsel in distress and victim to avenging hunter in the central role of Cassandra. Major props go to Maya Stojan as Cassandra’s partner Tessa as she is seen in the opening scene saving our potential central character from some thugs using some nifty grounded fight skills. This is something we see more of from Stojan as the film progresses, including a brief fight against the iconic Mickey Rourke during the third act.

Casper Van Dien once again shines when it comes to playing villains with his role of hunt leader Carter, who gives a rousing speech to the boys when it comes to why men should be men again. The ensemble goons are played by co-writer Lipper and Kipp Tribble as two former Wall Street boys turned hunters, and the London Twins, Jason and Jeremy, who are enjoying going a bit over the top with their roles of Teddy and Preston. One can only feel a bit of empathy for Will Peltz’s Jackson as he prepares for his first hunt but starts to feel something for Cassandra and makes him unsure whether hunting is a good idea.

Hunt Club definitely has the “female empowerment” vs. “toxic masculinity” vibe with some great performances and a very at times graphic third act that even adds a twist to the story that is unpredictable.

WFG RATING: A-

Uncork’d Entertainment presents a Latigo Films production in association with Titan Global Entertainment. Director: Elizabeth Blake-Thomas. Producers: Robert A. Daly Jr., Mark L. Lester, David Lipper, Keli Price, and Kipp Tribble. Writers: David Lipper and John Saunders. Cinematography: Duncan Johnson. Editing: Sean Cain.

Cast: Mena Suvari, Casper Van Dien, Maya Stojan, Will Peltz, David Lipper, Kipp Tribble, Jason London, Jeremy London, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Belkin, Geoff Samuels, Kenny Yates.