The Hunted (1995 film)

The Hunted
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	J. F. Lawton
Produced by	John Davis Gary W. Goldstein William Fay
Written by	J. F. Lawton
Starring	Christopher Lambert John Lone Joan Chen
Music by	Leonard Eto Motofumi Yamaguchi
Cinematography	Jack Conroy
Edited by	Robert A. Ferretti Eric Strand
Production company	Bregman/Baer Productions, Inc. Davis Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Studios
Release date	February 25, 1995 (1995-02-25)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Japanese
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$6,609,661 (USA)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
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The Hunted is a 1995 American martial-arts thriller film written and directed by J. F. Lawton and starring Christopher Lambert, John Lone, Joan Chen, Yoshio Harada and Yoko Shimada. Lambert plays Paul Racine, an American businessman who by accident earns the wrath of a ninja clan led by Lone's character, Kinjo. The film was shot in Nagoya, Japan, and Vancouver, Canada. It received mixed reviews, most of them criticizing the clichéed plot and unconvincing acting. However, some reviewers praised Harada's performance as samurai Ijuro Takeda, Racine's protector and Kinjo's sworn enemy. The critically well-received soundtrack featured music by the Japanese taiko troupe Kodō, which pervades the film. The Hunted was released on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.

Paul Racine (Lambert), a computer chip company executive from New York, is on a business trip to Nagoya. He meets Kirina (Chen) in the hotel lounge, and they have a one-night stand. After they part ways, Kirina is approached by Kinjo (Lone) and two henchmen. Kinjo is the leader of the Makato cult, an organization of ninja assassins that was hired to kill her. He boasts that no one has seen his face and lived. Kirina shows no fear of dying, so he grants her final wish to show her his face. Racine returns, looking for his room key, and tries to defend Kirina, but he is late. Kinjo decapitates her as his men stab Racine, hit him with a poisoned shuriken and slash his throat, leaving him for dead.

Racine awakes in a hospital room, but his claims of his encounter with ninjas are met with disbelief by the police. Lieutenant Wadakura (Okada) dismisses the allegation and suspects that the murder is the work of a yakuza syndicate. Racine is approached by Ijuro Takeda (Harada), an expert on the cult and on Kinjo. Takeda claims Racine's life is in danger as he has seen Kinjo's face. Racine also finds out that Takeda is the last in a samurai line and has a feud with Kinjo. The ninjas attempt to finish Racine off at the hospital, killing several hospital staff and police officers, including Wadakura, but he escapes. Takeda and his wife Mieko (Shimada) subsequently take him to their family's stronghold, located on an island several hundred miles away. Leaving the city, Takeda secretly uses Racine as bait to draw Kinjo out, leading to a battle on the train where several passenger cars of innocent people are slaughtered by the ninjas. Takeda and Mieko kill the attackers, but discover that Kinjo did not take part in the assault. The ninjas' leader was Junko (Natsuki), Kinjo's lover; this increases Kinjo's motivation to kill Racine and Takeda.