Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Hunt for the Wilderpeople has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available in the US on Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV, and in the UK on MGM Plus Amazon Channel. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Sam Neill is the obvious draw, but the whole ensemble earns its laughs. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The jokes in Hunt for the Wilderpeople land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison lead a cast with the timing to make it work. Hunt for the Wilderpeople came out in 2016. Hunt for the Wilderpeople earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Sam Neill anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.