Hunter Gatherer

Released Nov 16, 2016

1h 28m

Drama

List

96%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ashley Douglas (Andre Royo) thinks everything should fall into place when he's released after three years in prison. He thinks his friends should come to his welcome home party, and his girlfriend, Linda (Ashley Wilkerson), should greet him with open arms. When things don't go as planned, Ashley, a 40-something African-American, restarts his life with next to nothing.

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Audience Member

“Small”, everyday tale of ordinary people that holds you till the end. A master class in subtlety.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/09/19

Full Review

Audience Member

this almost fell thru my radar!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Unlike most sci-fi dystopian film &/TV, I found this to be a window on real-time horror that society has come to expect as status quo...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

dax h

Well, I kind of liked it, for a little while. Actually Jeremy was the character I found most interesting to watch. In some aspects the movie oddly reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite. I'm just tired of the way a lot of movies tend to end now days. It's trendy now days to end movies in various unsatisfying ways; unclear/ambiguous or without closure/answers or open ended or messy or abrupt. This is coming from a guy that doesn't mind endings that aren't always happy and tidy, but now it feels like directors are going over board with it too often and it's starting to feel lazy and unimaginative rather than daring or unorthodox or artistic or powerful or thought provoking. Sometimes it also feels like they simply don't have any idea how they want to end a movie so they go for something abstract, while others throw something out there that is murky in hopes it will be interpreted as deep or thought provoking. I just can't believe that the ending of a movie isn't more often what the story/movie is built around rather than feeling like it's an after thought. Anyways, that's how this one felt. I did like the creative tone for a movie in a salt of the Earth African American neighborhood, that was refreshing. It's one of those movies I may recommend to a few friends, but not most.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hunter Gather marks Joshua Locy's first venture as both a writer and a director after formerly working as an art director. This encouraging debut is an understated and quirky comedy about surviving in a lower-class black neighbourhood whilst finding glimmers of joy in the simpler things. Although far from perfect, it certainly broadcasts Locy as a capable director and is a refreshing break from the filmmaking norm. Returning to live with his mother following a three year stint in prison, Ashley (Andre Royo - The Wire) is looking to continue his life exactly where he left off. Except everyone around him has moved on. This does little to affect his infectiously positive outlook on life, rather it gives him new life goals. Firstly, to win back his sweetheart Linda, who has since moved on to a local garbageman, and secondly, to hustle enough money to treat her how he feels she deserves. His escapades lead him into the refrigerator disposal business, one that gives short term financial gain in return for a garden full of broken refrigerators that he lacks the ability to shift. Enter Jeremy (George Sample III). Around half his age, this curious initial encounter blossoms into a charming friendship with each providing the other with their most urgent needs. Ashley, with a truck to transport his fridges and a first friend after his release from prison and Jeremy, with an important father figure as his only referenced family is the grandfather who's nursing home room he sleeps in. The feeling of renewed childhood is used consistently throughout the film with this being the source of many hilarious moments. During an exchange at a school supplies store, Ashley asks the worker to give him recommendations and ultimately critique his look wearing different backpacks. The effortless manner this scene plays out cements it's place as perhaps the best in the film. Later on, a situation that is all too familiar for those in the audience, the 'but mum' moment. Where one child receives a stern telling off from his mother in the presence of a friend. It's highly entertaining to watch this unravel with a forty something year old man as the target. Humour lies at the core of this film, whether whimsical like those mentioned or deadpan, like Jeremy reminiscing about the time his pinky toe was removed and reattached using a laser. Locy manages to integrate bizarre elements into his scenes without losing the realistic foundation he has made. Unconventionality is embraced by Locy in various aspects of the film, for example the camera is used in ways not often seen on the silver screen. One in particular which worked each time it was utilised was the 'blur to foreground, blur to background' technique. Whether to emphasis loneliness or show different character's exploits in a single shot, this stood out as interesting and incredibly well implemented. The same cannot be said about everything Locy attempts. At several points the film strays into surrealism with the main characters faces overlapping and passing through each other. This seemed out of place but also a step away from style of work that suits Locy best. Hunter Gatherer excels in making the abnormal normal with situations that seem ludicrous in real life feeling utterly everyday through Locy's directorial style. Occasionally it may wander beyond its boundaries but the poetic beauty and ever-positive Ashley make this film one you won't easily forget.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

so much promise but bad acting and weak script

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Joshua Locy

Director

Andre Royo

Ashley

George Sample III

Jeremy Pittman

Kellee Stewart

Nat

Ashley Wilkerson

Linda

Kevin Jackson

Ray

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Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

A deliberately offbeat characterization of mental illness, Hunter Gatherer is ultimately a failed act of empathy.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jan 30, 2018

Full Review

Andrea Gronvall

Chicago Reader

By turns whimsical and touching.

Feb 2, 2017

Full Review

Adam Graham

Detroit News

Locy's good intentions and optimistic worldview take him only so far, and he struggles to find a fitting capper for his story. But the performances and the characters linger in your mind.

Rated: B

Jan 13, 2017

Full Review

Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

I am glad to have seen this, if only to witness Andre Royo once again prove his incredible range as an actor.

Rated: B

Jul 13, 2020

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Hunter Gatherer ascends to an unexpected eloquence in its final moments, a poignant elevation from the draconian designations heralded by its title.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 3, 2019

Full Review

Dominic Griffin

Baltimore Sun

The cycle of the blind self-delusion is its own prison, but the beauty here is the time these two men share as cell mates.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 16, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Ashley Douglas (Andre Royo) thinks everything should fall into place when he's released after three years in prison. He thinks his friends should come to his welcome home party, and his girlfriend, Linda (Ashley Wilkerson), should greet him with open arms. When things don't go as planned, Ashley, a 40-something African-American, restarts his life with next to nothing.

Director: Joshua Locy
Screenwriter: Joshua Locy
Distributor: The Orchard
Production Co: Mama Bear Studios, Rough House Pictures, The Orchard
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 16, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 7, 2017
Runtime: 1h 28m

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