'The Twilight Zone (2002)' Retro Recap: 'Hunted'

​Written by Scotty

There is one thing that would change the world and that is all of us being at peace with each other. If there is no fighting, no back stabbing, no need to protect one’s self, things might be drastically different. With no need to produce the next big weapon or to kill anyone, the defense budget would be next to nothing, but would that be a good thing? What if someone was willing to break that treaty to take over the people that are not prepared for it? What if there was no way in stopping the master mind that put this all into motion if they only had one purpose in their sights…to rule the world.

Lieutenant Jeffrey Freed is being forced to leave his wife and newborn son for the day as he has been called into action. With no need to maintain a security force for over fifty years, those days are now behind mankind since the Kreetor is back on the loose and killing again. As the security force is only made up of volunteers, it is hard to know how they will perform in the field and with Lt. Freed in command, he is worried about the outcome of their hunting trip. With nobody knowing what the Kreetor looks like, much less what it is, Freed’s group is in for a life changing event.

Splitting up in the woods to try and find any traces of the monster that is roaming nearby, the group finds nothing, but a Private goes missing during the search. Calling in the loss of a man, Freed is told to move on with the mission. But Freed’s team does not agree with leaving their friend behind and try to go off on their own to find him, allowing the Kreetor to snag another pair of human trophies. Knowing that they will be picked off one by one if they separate, Lt. Freed and Sgt. Yarrow decide to stick together and continue their mission to find and kill the Kreetor. Finding their men’s bodies strung up, the two are surprised to see that the beast is following them. 

Separating for their own safety, Freed finds that his Sergeant has been taken as well, but being able to track the beasts movements, he is able to locate her before it is too late. While trying to cut her down, Freed is knocked out by the Kreetor and taken back to a cave where the monster resides. Looking around and seeing candles lit everywhere, Freed sees the beast he has been afraid of all this time appears to be a human woman. Only wanting to save his wife, the Kreetor brought Freed into his home to stop the bleeding so she would survive child birth. Accusing the Kreetor of killing his friends, the monster is forced to show Freed what he really is, but this might not be as big of a reveal as the Kreetor thought.

After watching this, you are left to wonder what it truly means to be alive. I like how the Kreetor tries to explain who and what he is, but his new opponent Freed can care less about it. Wanting to abolish the threat that the Kreetor brings to his world, he wants to make the world a safe place once again. Knowing what they are, this story is about a battle between two races, both trying to survive the best way they can. The two civilizations have been able to live beside each other for over fifty years, but when the truce is broken by one man who wants the world back, the outcome is a very different than he expected. I liked the ending since you have no idea who is who when the episode begins and are left in shock and awe when it ends. You might not fear technology, but when it starts becoming smarter than us, we may have an issue.

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