You may know actor Josh Stewart from his starring role in The Collector and The Collection. Stewart makes his directorial debut and stars in the horror thriller, The Hunted, out now on DVD & Digital HD. The film about backwoods terror in the Appalachians of West Virginia, is an authentic and personal story from Stewart. Read on for more details on the film.
The film is written and directed by Josh Stewart and stars Skipp Sudduth (Third Watch), Katherine Von Till (Anger Management), and Josh Stewart (The Collector, The Collection, The Dark Knight Rises).
After months on the high-budget set of The Dark Knight Rises, Stewart needed a breeze of change – something to spark his creativity and bring his talent home. The script for THE HUNTED materialized from this desire and led him down the path to his very first endeavor directing. Growing up in rural West Virginia, Stewart spent much of his youth fly-fishing and hunting in the sprawling woods where THE HUNTED found its home.
“THE HUNTED is based on a true story that actually happened to me and my roommate /best friend back in college,” said Stewart. “It’s a story I have always wanted to tell. Creatively I was just looking for something that would be a true testament to filmmaking while telling a story through something I’ve been doing my whole life, hunting. .. There’s something to be said for the shift back to telling a cool story to make a film work.”
In rounding out that crew of dedicated people, Stewart approached long-time friends Brett Forbes and Patrick Rizzotti of Fortress Features about producing the film immediately. The trio first worked together beginning in 2009 as Stewart starred in horror features The Collector and The Collection.
An outdoorsman at heart, Stewart was no stranger to the simplistic world they inhabited during the shoot. After working all over the world, the genuine nostalgic experience of coming home to film in his own backyard was invaluable. His love for the region created focus on making all elements of the film realistic enough to appeal to fellow hunters. Everything from the equipment, apparel and even safety measures were true to form – a quality only found on hunting shows not in fictional work.
Before shooting began, the filmmakers reached out to the most respective hunting brands in the industry in order to make the film. Industry brand leaders, BowTech Archery, Realtree, Scentblocker, Trophy Ridge, Leuopold and Cabellas quickly signed on to be a part of the project because of Stewart’s efforts to not sensationalize the sport.
Plot Synopsis
THE HUNTED follows family-man and hunter Jake, played by Josh Stewart, alongside his best friend Stevie as they journey deep into the Appalachians of West Virginia on the hunt for a renowned, massive buck. Chasing their dream of landing a television hunting show, the duo head into the dense, secluded mountains armed with only their bows and camera equipment. Given a timeframe of just a few days to win over producers with the legendary kill the friends quickly realize there is something else that stirs within the woods. Something that turn-by-turn begins to hunt them…
Watch the trailer for The Hunted here,
