PopHorror Let's Get Scared
With The Huntsman, filmmaker Kyle Kauwika Harris brings Judith Sanders’ novel to the screen as a quiet, morally complex thriller rooted in ambiguity and character. Pop Horror spoke with Harris about discovering the project, reshaping it for Oklahoma, avoiding gratuitous violence, and the improvisational moments that made it into the final cut.
The Huntsman released in theaters on Friday, February 6, and hit digital platforms — Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vudu, YouTube — on February 10, 2026. The film stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Jessy Schram (Mad Men) and Garret Dillahunt (Fear the Walking Dead).
The Huntsman: Discovering the Project
PopHorror: What first pulled you toward Judith Sanders’ novel and what made you feel it had to become a film rather than just stay on the page?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Yeah, you know, my base of operations is out of Oklahoma. So we shot the film in Oklahoma City and I’ve done a lot of films in Oklahoma. But my producing partner, Nick Clement, lives in the Northeast up in Connecticut, and he has a lot of ties to filmmakers and stuff in New York.
So I was first introduced to The Huntsman by my producing partner, Nick. This would have been early 2023. He brought the project in through his relationship with Stephen Rittner, who co-wrote and produced the film. At the time there was some partial financing attached, so none of it was quite — we didn’t quite know to what extent.
But as soon as I read the script — because it had already become a script from Judith’s novel by Stephen — when it came to us, it was in script form. And I was just sort of struck by the ambiguity woven into the characters and their circumstances.
Then I read the book and just kind of took it from there.
I thought it’s definitely that type of movie that I watch a lot. I just recently watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo again. I’ve been revisiting that for several years. Everyone likes those types of murder mystery movies or serial killer thrillers, like David Fincher does — from Seven to Gone Girl type vibes and tones and stuff.
So it was definitely interesting. It’s not something I probably would have written naturally. Mostly I do crime dramas and stuff like that, or crime thrillers when it comes to military and global politics and stuff like that. But there was something really interesting about the book. The foundations were all there for a really cool story. And yeah, we just came in and had fun with it.
Moral Gray Areas and Red Herrings
PopHorror: The story centers on an act of compassion that ultimately is dangerous. Why was that moral gray area important for the movie, do you think?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Yeah, one of the things I told all the actors when I was working with them was, everybody’s a suspect until they’re not.
When you’re shooting an independent film, to try to keep that tone all together — and everything’s shot out of order. I mean, even Garrett’s first day of shooting, Garrett Dillahunt, his first day of filming was the last scene of his character. That’s sometimes the way it works in films. You have to kind of tonally keep track of all of that as you’re navigating the 25 days of shooting.
It’s a movie that doesn’t reveal everything out in the open, right? Everybody’s keeping the secrets inside. It’s very intimate and personal.
There was a scene that was originally there in the version that we sold to a distributor, and then we ended up cutting it right before release. Originally it was all there in the book and in the screenplay that Stephen wrote and in the version that I got to write.
My contribution as the writer was mostly taking it from the Northeast and redesigning it for a Midwest setting. Then sort of elevating some of the action elements, because we’re so zoomed in on these quiet moments with these characters and just the eyes.
I wanted to add in elements of physicality so we can zoom out a little bit and be a little bit bigger. So that makes the world a little bit bigger. We have the protests and then the SWAT team raid and stuff like that. I wrote that stuff in. I’m ex-military and I always sort of incorporate those types of things into my films.
Taking someone like Sam Miller, that Todd Jenkins played — he’s just a small part in the book and in the script — I wanted to elevate that and make him more of a red herring. So that’s how we elevate little things. All the characters are a little bit bigger.
Media Influence and Public Perception
PopHorror: The protest moments in The Huntsman kind of hark back to cases like Ted Bundy, where media and public perception really shaped the narrative. I imagine media has a big influence on how we perceive crime.
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Absolutely, yeah. I was watching a 20/20 special on these Girl Scout murders that happened in Oklahoma back in the late ’70s. It was in a small town called Locust Grove.
Once these three young girls were killed, the police came in to start the investigation. The town got wind of it, and they had a suspect in mind, and the town just got involved. They just kind of showed up. When the police were trying to do their investigation and their hunts for him, the townspeople were just there. Helping out, protesting, just a presence.
So I thought, a small town, young ladies get killed — I would imagine the town’s gonna stand up for themselves and be like, “Hey, just so you know, we’re watching you. We’re looking for you. We’re not gonna let this be forgotten.”
That’s something we incorporated into the movie for sure.
Avoiding Gratuitous Violence
PopHorror: You’ve said the film avoids gratuitous violence. How did you build tension and fear without relying so much on graphic imagery?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Correct. Yeah, like gratuitous violence, gratuitous nudity — I’m not just a real big fan of that. I’m more interested in characters and motivations and stuff like that.
Those types of things happen sort of off-screen, or we give a little bit of it, but we don’t give a lot. I’m more interested in approaching it from an art house perspective versus the gratuitous. I’m just really not interested in those types of things.
I feel like movies live longer in my mind when it’s not too flashy, when it’s not like dangling a carrot in front of you. It makes you think a little bit more. I’m just more drawn to that stuff personally.
We shot everything, but in the edit room maybe we take it out because it’s too gratuitous. But some things, the consensus was like, “Oh, maybe we should leave that moment. Maybe we should try that moment.”
The ICU Nurse and Secrets
PopHorror: The ICU nurse is our way into the story. How did you shape that character so the audience would question his choices but stay emotionally invested?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Again, it’s just when you’re shooting out of order. You’re not shooting it verbatim as they read it, so they can track from point A to point D. Sometimes in the shooting schedule, depending on different reasons, things shift around.
Without spoiling anything, Sean’s character has a big secret. There’s a reason why he’s at this ICU rehab center, and there’s a reason why he’s getting closer to Garrett’s character. It’s not an accident that he’s the nurse.
He wants Lincoln to wake up so he can get answers. Then when Lincoln finally wakes up, the police start their investigation again. They pull him out of the hospital and take him home. Sean’s character is sort of like, now I failed, my mission’s over with.
But then he’s offered a second call to action. “Come to our house since you helped my husband get better. He trusts you.” Little do they know he might be there for something else. And without spoiling it, the wife may be knowing something too. The version we sold was an hour and 58 minutes. I’m hearing now it’s about an hour and 42 minutes. So there’s like 18 minutes of footage that’s not there. I haven’t seen this new one yet, so I’m interested to see how that plays.
PopHorror: Do you think there will be deleted scenes or a director’s cut?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Since there’s no DVDs, they don’t really do that anymore, which sucks. But maybe there’ll be a director’s cut someday. I think the director’s cut is really awesome. It definitely slow burns, and the characters are more well-rounded.
On-Set Moments and Improvisation
PopHorror: Were there any unique or memorable moments with the cast?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: There were so many cool moments. I remember there was a scene where Sean takes a tumble and Lincoln pulls him from the water. In the script, that scene continued into the woods.
It was like four in the morning, and I felt like we’d said what we needed to say already. So I told them, “I think I’m gonna rewrite this scene.” They were tired, but they were like, “Okay, let’s do it.”
We found this three-legged chair in a pile of trees, threw a shawl on Garrett, and just rewrote the scene right there. That made the final cut.
Another moment was during a montage where Sean’s wheeling Garrett outside. It was just supposed to be part of the montage. But on the last take, I sensed Garrett was like, “What else can I do?”
I said, “You’re starting to get better. Don’t you want to walk on your grass?” He owned a landscaping company before the coma. So I told him, “Stop the wheelchair, take your shoes off, and walk into the yard. Don’t tell Sean.”
Garrett did it. He walked into the yard, closed his eyes, breathed, stuck up his hands, and the birds started chirping real loud. I said from behind the camera, “You hear those birds?” And he just took the line and went with it.
He’s that kind of actor. You let the scene breathe, and he’ll make it his own. Those happy accidents are the things that stick out in my mind.
Living Under Suspicion
PopHorror: What’s the most interesting aspect of having the suspected killer in that vulnerable state?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: Everybody thinks it’s him. When he wakes up, the last thing he remembers is court depositions and a guy pointing a gun at him and hearing the gunshot.
So when he wakes up, he’s got all these emotions. How much time has it been? What’s going on?
Coming home and realizing people still hate him, seeing protests outside his house — I would imagine that character is under a lot of stress and sort of tormented by that reality.
Garrett’s such a great character actor. He plays tortured souls really well. He likes to discuss those things in detail, and I really liked that.
Favorite Films and Early Horror Memories
PopHorror: What are some of your favorite films, horror or non-horror? And are there any gory horror movies you enjoy?
Kyle Kauwika Harris: In the late ’80s, I was probably six or seven years old. On weekends I’d stay with my grandparents and we’d rent VHS tapes. I remember renting Pet Sematary. They went to bed, and I watched it by myself in the dark. No lights on, volume low. It freaked me out. I ended up sleeping next to their bed that night.
For horror, I love Alien, The Thing. Those are some of my favorites.
Favorite films in general? Shawshank Redemption. Last of the Mohicans. No Country for Old Men. There Will Be Blood. Cool Hand Luke. Badlands. The Thin Red Line. Road to Perdition. Prisoners. Sicario. I love a good movie that makes me think, that’s emotional, with beautiful cinematography and great actors and characters.
