A payphone rings inside an empty gas station in the middle of the night, and the woman who answers it discovers she is not alone. Night of the Hunted, a 2023 horror-thriller, unfolds almost entirely within that one isolated stop.
What is Night of the Hunted about?
Stranded at a remote gas station after dark, a woman realizes she has become the target of a sniper watching her every move from somewhere out in the darkness. What starts as a strange, threatening phone call turns into a drawn-out standoff: she has to stay out of the shooter's line of sight, work out where he's positioned, and figure out why she was chosen at all, all while trapped inside a small, brightly lit building that offers almost nowhere to hide. The film leans on the geometry of the station itself, using its glass walls, aisles and open forecourt to keep the threat feeling close even when the person behind it stays unseen.
About the cast
Camille Rowe carries the film as the woman under siege, with Aleksandar Popovic, J. John Bieler, Jeremy Scippio, Brian Breiter, Monaia Abdelrahim, Isaiah Reyes and Brenda Nunez rounding out the cast.
Context & significance
Franck Khalfoun directs this French-American co-production, working in the confined, single-location survival mode he's known for. At 95 minutes, Night of the Hunted plays out in close to real time, built around sightlines and small tactical decisions rather than a large cast of characters or a sprawling setting, which keeps the tension tightly wound throughout.
Watching Night of the Hunted on Ktime
Night of the Hunted is available on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, giving Farsi-speaking viewers a choice of either. A free K-Time account login is needed to watch, though the film's page can be browsed without signing in first. K-Time serves the Iranian diaspora with a Farsi-first platform experience.