MovieChat Forums > The Hunted (2003) Discussion > Hunters or 'Sweepers'?

Hunters or 'Sweepers'?

posted 16 years ago by greenj_75
27 replies | jump to latest

One thing that has me curious, even after a few rewatches is the scene where the two hunters are killed. Are they really just a couple of city-slicking hunters?

The film itself suggests they may be hunting elk, but never confirms it. They refer to what they're tracking as 'he' and you never actually seem them take aim at an animal in their scopes.

Other than that, their equipment and demeanor when Aaron Hallam starts taunting them from the shadows suggests they may be military types.

Later in the film the FBI lady tells LT that as far as she knows they were just a couple of businessmen.

Did the film leave their true identities open to viewer interpretation? What do you guys and gals think?

[–] Vibradiant 11 years ago

Sweepers.

Any hunter tracking game would lower their rifle the moment someone began speaking to them from the bushes, esp given that at first he came off more like a crazy hippy in the woods more than as an assassin. They just kept advancing like overconfident soldiers in the field while looking at everything though their scopes, as well as the one "hunter's" obvious challenge regarding weapons.

They were clearly there to kill him.

"I like to watch" Chauncey Gardiner, 'Being There'

[–] rat_scabies 10 years ago

I'm surprised there's so much debate over this. Seemed pretty obvious even on the first viewing that they were there to hunt him. All three of them had lines that indicated that pretty blatantly.

The orange vests were part of their disguise. I haven't read a single compelling argument to the contrary.

[–] dreez-vector 10 years ago

AFAIK they were hunting for fun, as in.. killing for fun. So i didn't care one
bit about them dying like they did. Personally i think there's too many people
killing animals for "sport"... so a few hunters less doesn't matter.

[–] averwind 9 years ago

They were hunting him because of what he did (he killed the whole family instead of the designated target). There is also a letter he sent to LT saying the ones that were sent to kill him was not any good.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]