Hunt for the Wilderpeople Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 27, 2026

Taika Waititi's "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" (2016) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Visions Home Video. The supplemental features on the release include filmed Q&A session; archival audio commentary by Taika Waititi, Sam Neil, and Julian Dennison; making of featurette; original trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Sometimes, you have to lose yourself first to find yourself. Some people swear that it is true. Then they describe very particular experiences that apparently reset their minds and made them see many things differently. Like the world they have been living in. Or their role in it. Or everything they had been sacrificing while pursuing various trivial goals. These experiences, they say, helped them discover a truer, happier version of themselves that most were unaware existed.

Plenty in Taika Waititi’s film Hunt for the Wilderpeople can be rationalized with this statement.

In a lonely corner of the New Zealand bush, Hec (Sam Neill) and Bella (Rima Te Wiata) welcome Ricky (Julian Dennison), a problematic orphan who has spent his entire life moving through various juvenile centers. They are warned by Child Services officials that Ricky will need time to adjust and a lot of love, and then reassured that he can become the son they have always dreamed of. Just hours later, the predictably difficult bonding process begins. Just hours later, the predictably difficult bonding process begins. However, Bella unexpectedly dies, and the same officials from Child Services quickly declare that Ricky can no longer stay with Hec. When Ricky refuses to go back and disappears in the bush, with Hec going after and then joining him, the authorities launch a massive manhunt that quickly becomes the biggest news event in the country.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a collage of absurdist episodes where all major characters are forced to ‘lose’ themselves in a foreign environment. More than two-thirds of the material in these episodes features the two fugitives and, according to the biggest fans of Hunt for the Wilderpeople, is supposed to be very funny. A few somewhat funny bits emerge here and there, but the truth is that virtually all of this material is just awkward. Some of it is awkward by design, and some of it is very awkward because it does not come together as it should.

This is where Hunt for the Wilderpeople becomes a rather intriguing film for a somewhat different reason. Could it be that, like the two fugitives, Waititi also becomes temporarily ‘lost’ in a genre film working with material that is foreign to him? Whether intentionally or not, this is precisely the impression Hunt for the Wilderpeople leaves. As such an intimate project, plenty in Hunt for the Wilderpeople begins to make perfect sense — the awkward overlapping of the funny and the unfunny, the melodrama quickly collapsing into absurdist theater, the random messaging and proper finale.

The only indisputable strength of Hunt for the Wilderpeople is its exploration of New Zealand. Waititi’s camera visits some truly spectacular locations that sell the country in the absolute best way possible. The lush green hills and valleys, the snowy mountains, the barren areas, and distant metropolitan skyline all look breathtaking.

Waititi’s director of photography was Lachlan Milne, who soon after lensed several episodes of the popular TV series Stranger Things.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hunt for the Wilderpeople arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Visions Home Video.

I viewed equal parts of Hunt for the Wilderpeople on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. (You can see our review of the 4K Blu-ray release here). While I did not have any older home video releases of it to perform comparisons, I was enormously impressed with how it looked on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray and suspect that the new presentations are as good as they can be. Delineation, clarity, and especially depth looked mighty impressive on my system. This is the type of quality that I consider 'reference material'. I did some comparisons to see if some of the wonderful aerial footage looked better on 4K Blu-ray. I do not think that there is a meaningful enough difference. The HDR grade makes select darker nuances slightly more impressive, but on the Blu-ray everything still looks great. I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the entire film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. (I viewed a substantial portion of it on the Blu-ray, too). I do not know whether Hunt of the Wilderpeople was finalized with an all-digital soundtrack. However, if it does have an all-digital soundtrack, it would make perfect sense that clarity, sharpness, and balance are so well managed. Dynamic contrasts are good, too. The chase footage at the end has the best of them.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Taika Waititi, Sam Neil, and Julian Dennison. The more interesting comments address the special locations where different parts of Hunt for the Wilderpeople were filmed, the funny material, and the evolving relationship between the two male stars.

• 10th Anniversary Q&A Session - in this filmed Q&A session, Taika Waititi, Sam Neil, and various other people that worked on Hunt for the Wilderpeople answer questions about the conception and production of the film. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• Making of Featurette - a short program featuring interviews with Taika Waititi, Julian Dennison, and Sam Neil, as well as raw footage from the filming of Hunt for the Wilderpeople. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Bloopers - in English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original trailer for Hunt for the Wilderpeople. in English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Hunt for the Wilderpeople Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The outrageously funny film many people describe after viewing Hunt for the Wilderpeople remains elusive to me. I find Hunt for the Wilderpeople intriguing as an experimental, intimate project. However, too many layers of contrasting material make it obvious it was not conceived and shot to impress as such. This Blu-ray release celebrates its 10th anniversary with an outstanding technical presentation, so if you are a fan, treat yourself with it. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.