Fantasia XXIV Review: In CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER, No Hunter In Sight To Put You Out Of Your Misery

The 24th annual Fantasia Film Festival ran from August 20th to September 2nd, but there are still films to talk about! When the festival announced its titles, we here at Film Combat Syndicate were able to look over the list of movies and descriptions. One of the first choices to catch my eye was Climate of the Hunter because it sounded so intriguing:

Wine, jello and vamps! Oh my! With CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER, legendary underground filmmaker Mickey Reece (STRIKE, DEAR MISTRESS AND CURE HIS HEART) pits two sisters (the unforgettable Mary Buss and Ginger Gilmartin) against each other as they vie for the affections of a man who may or not be a bloodsucking vampire! A film teeming with oddball characters, star swipes and horrifically appealing jello platters that will leave your mouth watering and your stomach churning. Quebec Premiere

Sounds like a great film, right? Well…
The synopsis did not completely lie:
The characters were oddballs! There were times that they were so odd and stilted with each other that watching their interactions was uncomfortable. I could feel their unhappiness with the other characters through the screen. The sisters were both after the affections and attention of a man who may or may not be a vampire (but there is a garlic allergy, so I’m leaning more towards may be). There were platters of food that were, well, odd: the specific screenshots of the meals were brighter and were narrated by a voice that did not match the rest of the film.

So by that last comment you can probably tell what I had failed to grasp before committing to watching this film: it is an artsy, dramatic take on vampires. So I was just a tad disappointed with the actual product. Based on the summary, I had grand ideas of a sibling rivalry trying to hook up with a vampire. Maybe the sisters would be tough and the film would be strong slayers like Buffy and Kendra fighting over Angel. Or maybe it would be something amusing in the vein of What We Do in the Shadows…

…But no.

There was a lot of griping. The sisters did not get along. The one sister did not get along with her daughter. Oh, and the maybe-vampire did not get along with his son. So what I was watching was neither amusing nor action-filled, but there was a lot of talking. Don’t get me wrong, the maybe-vampire had a way with words quoting literature and speaking philosophically.

So while there were parts of the film that I liked, I just could not get as into it as much as I thought I would. Instead of wondering which sister would end up with the maybe-vampire or what would happen next, I found myself wishing that the hunter alluded to in the title would come and end it all.