The Hunter is a 2011 Australian drama film, directed by Daniel Nettheim and produced by Vincent Sheehan, based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Julia Leigh.

[5] In the film, a shadowy corporation ("Red Leaf") sends mercenary Martin David (Dafoe) to Tasmania to track down a thylacine, a supposedly extinct animal whose genetic code holds the secret to a dangerous weapon.

Posing as a university biologist, Martin lodges in the home of the Armstrong family: Lucy and her two young children, Katie and Jamie.

Speculation surrounds Jarrah's disappearance, particularly with regard to a longstanding conflict between the local loggers who are in desperate need of jobs, and the 'greenies', a group of environmentalists who have set up road blocks to the forest to prevent its deforestation.

Martin goes into the bush for twelve days at a time, setting up various steel traps and makeshift snares, while waiting patiently to see if a tiger will surface.

During his short stays at the Armstrongs' to resupply, Martin slowly befriends the children, and discovers that Lucy's medication is delivered to her by Jack Mindy, who has been unofficially looking in on the family.

[9] Kim Newman from Empire gave the film three stars, calling The Hunter "a slow-burning, beautifully shot, and highly understated philosophical thriller".