‘Hunter’ both eco-thriller and poignant parable

The Tasmanian devil is not just a cartoon character. It’s a ravenous, dog-size marsupial whose vanishing habitat is an island in Australia. Even rarer is its relative, the Tasmanian tiger, a striped species that hasn’t been verifiably seen since the 1930s. The eco-thriller “The Hunter” imagines the parasites that would capitalize on the creature if rumors of its re-emergence were true.

To keep serious cinema from going extinct, this could be sold as “The Hunger Games” cross-bred with “The Lorax,” but it’s better and more mature than either of those hit movies.

Willem Dafoe, with a role befitting his wiry menace, plays Martin, a mercenary who is hired by a multinational corporation to hunt and extract tissue from the Tasmanian tiger that’s been spotted in the rugged hills of the island. The biotech company has a vaguely explained plan to make medications from the tissue samples.

But the locals know that other enterprising explorers have preceded Martin into the bush country, including a long-missing man whose grieving wife is the only person who will rent him a room.

Hippieish Lucy (Frances O’Connor) lives with her daughter Sass (Morgana Davies) and son Bike (Finn Woodlock) in a cabin in the woods that attracts local artists and musicians. But it also attracts shadowy characters who think Martin is up to no good. They are kept at bay by Martin’s local contact, Jack (Sam Neill), but soon the wolves are circling Lucy, too.

Although “The Hunter” has tantalizing elements of a handyman and maiden romance, and there is a growing bond between Martin and the inquisitive boy Bike, the satisfying meat of the movie is in the wilderness. With a rucksack of gadgets, Dafoe makes a believably cunning tracker, and when he finally confronts his prey, the mutual respect feeds a poignant parable.