The World Of LARP & The Wild Hunt

THE WILD HUNT (DVD)
Network Releasing

Release date: October 10h 2011
Certificate (UK): 15
Running time: 97 minutes

Director and producer: Alexandre Franchi
Writers: Alexandre Franchi and Mark A.Krupa

Cast: Mark A.Krupa, Ricky Mabe, Kaniehtiio Horn, Trevor Hayes

Official Movie Site

Imagine you’re a Viking invading an enemy’s lair. Raising your sword, you demand that the captured Princess is to be released. With that you are struck with a sword and when you try to retaliate are briefly interrupted by the moans of the observing crowd shouting for the referee to intervene.

Welcome to the world of Live Action Role-Play. Whenever I think about LARP, I imagine men and women running around in cloaks chanting mythical spells to defeat imaginary trolls and monsters.

I’m reminded of the American Dad episode, Dungeons and Wagons (2006), where Steve and his friends become enticed in a virtual role playing video game – or when the Wizard Master tries and fails to take on Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987).

Canadian filmmakers Alexandre Franchi and Mark A.Krupa’s debut feature, The Wild Hunt, an imaginative take on a Nordic legend, invites us into a world where the realms of fantasy and reality collide.

Bjorn (Mark A.Krupa) is obsessed with the imagined glory of his Icelandic Ancestry. In the real world however, he is a LARPer who takes part in medieval re-enactment games. His brother Erik (Ricky Mabe) despises this escapist fantasy world. His dislike of this obsession is due to the fact that his brother left Erik to take full responsibility of caring for their sick father, giving up his own freedom in the process.

If his life couldn’t get any worse his girlfriend Lyn (Kaniehtiio Horn) has also gotten lost in the world of LARP and has fallen for Shaman Murtagh (Trevor Hayes), the powerful clan leader who is duly respected by Bjorn.

He realises that the only way to win her back is to follow her to the secluded camp and into the game.

Feeling alienated in a fantasyland of rules, plastic elf shaped ears and beer bellied Knights, Erik must now follow his brother’s guidance. Tension and emotions start to run high as their mission to win Princess Evlynia (Lyn) back causes a rift of jealously, rejection and madness from Murtagh and his clan. Plastic swords and drama start to become more sinister and what was once a friendly game of make believe is now a battle for survival. The lines between reality and fantasy collide leaving everyone unsure of whom they really are.

I like films which are different, and from the first five minutes you get the impression this definitely is. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know anything about role-playing because you are thrown into the middle of it all.

“Don’t mess with the decorum,” mentions a referee. Throughout we are reminded about the decorum (costume and speech) – apparently it’s very important to LARPers. Outsiders and their modern ways aren’t welcome. This cult-like dedication seems dramatic but I think it’s a fairly accurate point to make. People come from all around the world to play these games so they want everything to feel authentic. This makes uncomfortable viewing especially when Erik is trying to track down Lyn and no one around him will help as he isn’t in character.

Director Franchi explores the emotional side of role-playing, which addresses the themes of identities. Each character has two roles, one being their original self and the second a completely different persona in the role-playing world. Personas let us escape the real world and hide behind a mask where we can develop who we want to be without fear of bullying or intimidation and helps us overcome our insecurities.

In reality a computer is the main lease for this. The role players act out their characters accordingly to a suitable manner and to match the circumstances of each situation. When things start to take a turn for the worse and the events go out of control, it’s interesting to see how each character deals with the situation as they have to confront everything they have always hidden themselves from. Should they fight or run? It’s difficult to distinguish what’s “real” and what is fake in the film and it’s not just the characters that are left questioning, I was left wondering on numerous occasions.

I must admit that I laughed my way through the first half of the film. But it was uncomfortable laughing like when someone embarrasses themselves in public and you can’t let them see you laughing. The clever constant shifting from medieval era decorum, to modern day mannerisms and slang made quite entertaining viewing also.

Crossed between The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) and Lord of the Flies (1963), The Wild Hunt is a heart-pounding thriller with violent sequences of savagery and a proveiling Shakespearean style tragedy unfolding throughout. The ending is gruesome yet quick. I enjoyed it – it’s different but in a good way.

Now I’m off to iron my elf outfit and glue my pointy ears on before I set off to face the mythical monster quest, which is work!