Description
by
MARK SULLIVAN
Professional Hunter
Simply stated, Death Rush is my best movie ever! For those of you not familiar with my work, this statement may not mean much. But take it from me, this movie has over-the-top adrenaline and will go down in history as the greatest dangerous game hunting movie ever made. Filmed entirely on location in Tanzania, East Africa during the 2005 hunting season, Death Rush takes you on a journey through nine fabulous hunts for monster rogue bull hippo and huge Cape buffalo. Tossed in for good measure is a hunt for an incredible Selous bull elephant the likes of which few hunters ever see.
Featured in this movie are six kill or be killed charges of which one is the single finest charge I have ever experienced as a professional hunter. The beast in question was an old rogue bull hippo that I found deep inside a snake- infested korongo far away from any river or lake. As much as I hate to admit it, this great warrior almost got me and it was just by the Grace of God that I was not killed. Although my first shot hit him in the head at something less than 10 feet, my 750 grain .577 bullet missed the brain and on failing to kill him, the enraged beast kept advancing. I remember thinking he was going to kill me. At some point, his massive 7,000 pound frame came hurling to the ground within spitting distance of my shoes. I had just time to ram another thumb-sized slug into his brain before he got me. The footage of this charge is nothing short of amazing. Even if I were given another 100 tries, I could not film it better. Guaranteed, you will watch this charge over and over again for as long as you live or until you wear it out.
There are three other spectacular hippo charges, anyone of which is as good as anything you’ve ever seen in your life, and two Cape buffalo charges to compliment the movie. I know I’m going to be asked this question for the rest of my life so I might as well answer it now. Why so many charges in a single season? Just lucky I guess. Some years are better than others.
I am not into killing something for the sake of killing, but I love hunting and for me, the ethical hunting of dangerous game means walking up an giving the gallant warrior the choice of how he is to die in battle rather than deciding his fate for him by blasting him into oblivion from a safe distance. By giving him the choice (and the opportunity), I know he will do one of two things; run away or charge. It is that simple.
Whichever he chooses, it is the animal that decides how and when he is going to die; not me. By the same token, if he charges and I don’t do my job correctly; I die. Even with that prospect hanging over my head, my philosophy in hunting dangerous game has always remained the same; I love it when they charge and I hate it when they run. Like I say, some years are luckier than others and this was one such year.
If you like the thrill of watching Africa’s most dangerous game charge, if you like seeing people putting their lives on the line, risking everything in the face of certain death; then you will love this movie. Death Rush is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. To quote a line from the great Ted Nugent who has been so gracious in giving his endorsement of this movie,
“Mark Sullivan has outdone Mark Sullivan. The man rocks!”
I hope you enjoy the movie as much as I have bringing it to you.
