Hunting Season (2025 film)

Last updated
Hunting Season
Hunting Season (2025 film).jpg
Directed byRJ Collins
Written byAdam Hampton
Produced byEduard Osipov
Eric Brenner
Vince Jolivette
David McCalib Jr.
Dan Katzman
Al Bravo
Luke Wyckoff
Starring
CinematographyBrandon Cox
Edited byMagnus Hall
Hakan Karlsson
Music byAnders Niska
Klas Wahl
Distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Release date
  • December 3, 2025 (2025-12-03)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Hunting Season is a 2025 American action crime drama film written by Adam Hampton, directed by RJ Collins and starring Mel Gibson.

Contents

Synopsis

In the remote woods of Oklahoma, Bowdrie, a rugged loner with a shadowy past, lives a quiet, disciplined life with his daughter, Tag - a sharp, independent girl who was raised off the grid. Their simple existence is disrupted when Tag stumbles upon a badly injured woman near the river while out fishing. The woman, January, is bloodied, beaten, and near death. Despite Bowdrie's instincts to remain distant, he and Tag take her in and tend to her wounds. As January slowly recovers in their cabin, the truth begins to emerge. She and her best friend Lizzie were kidnapped by masked men linked to a violent criminal named Alejandro. The women were tortured for information about a man named Jensen, a former associate of the gang. January survived being shot and dumped in the river-Lizzie did not. Bowdrie confirms this grim reality when he finds Lizzie's body tangled in river debris, bearing a bullet hole in her forehead. Tensions rise as Bowdrie debates the danger of keeping January hidden. His primary concern is protecting Tag, who is growing attached to January. Meanwhile, Alejandro, ruthless and unstable, continues hunting for Jensen-and anyone connected to him. He abducts Jensen and his wife, signaling the violent reach of his operation. The story builds toward a quiet but intense moral reckoning. Bowdrie decides to take January into town, knowing that doing so may expose them all to Alejandro's wrath. As the father-daughter bond between Bowdrie and Tag is tested by hard truths and looming threats, the movie explores themes of survival, redemption, found family, and the human cost of violence. The ending leaves the audience in quiet suspense, as safety remains uncertain and choices weigh heavily.

Cast

Release

The film was released on December 5, 2025. [1] [2]

Reception

The film has a 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews. [3] Julian Roman of MovieWeb awarded the film three stars out of five. [1]

Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com gave the film a mixed review and wrote, “Hunting Season isn’t awful, and Collins does the best he can with the material, but there’s no denying that were Gibson not the star, it would be immediately disposable.” [4]

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and wrote that Gibson’s “charisma keeps the formulaic movie afloat, while director Collins displays a flair for action scenes…” [2]

References

  1. 1 2 Roman, Julian. "Mel Gibson Gets Back to Badass Basics in Action Thriller 'Hunting Season'". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Scheck, Frank (December 3, 2025). "'Hunting Season' Review: A Magnetic Mel Gibson Makes This Formulaic Actioner Watchable". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  3. "Hunting Season". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  4. Bumbray, Chris. "Hunting Season Review: Mel Gibson is still a compelling lead even if the film is assembly line". JoBlo.com. Retrieved December 8, 2025.