Paranormal love stories have become a hot genre. Ever since the Twilight films, many directors have explored the intersections of the supernatural and the sensual. Mickey Reece’s Climate of the Hunter takes this idea and gives it an arthouse spin.
The film features the brooding Wesley (Ben Hall), who is a vampire. Or so the audience and other characters are led to believe. He’s developed a garlic allergy and an aversion to sunlight. Wesley and his adult son Percy (Sheridan McMichael) are invited to a dinner party with friends Alma (Ginger Gilmartin), daughter Rose (Danielle Evon Ploegger), and sister Elizabeth (Mary Buss). Instead of full-fledged violence and gore, the film spends its time exploring the connections between all these characters.
Musician-turned-director Mickey Reece is big on one thing: atmosphere. The dinner itself becomes a lunatic affair, as Jello salad and something called “cherry cheese pie” are presented in a bizarre retro style. The real story is the relationships between the five main characters. Percy does not like his father. It’s palpable. We find out Alma, through an extraordinarily long take, has a history of psychiatric problems. You also find out these characters prior to the dinner haven’t seen each other for two decades. Reece leaves it all ambiguous, and there’s no real closure, but for fans of horror and character study, this is a film you can sink your teeth into. This would be a good, offbeat selection for vampire film series or library programming.