SW FL movie 'Python Hunt' hits streaming with 'swamp monster' stories

SW FL movie 'Python Hunt' hits streaming with 'swamp monster' stories

Southwest Florida-shot documentary "The Python Hunt" saw a limited run in U.S. theaters earlier this year. Now the movie's hit streaming, too.

You can rent or buy the 91-minute documentary on Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube and Fandango.

Packed with quirky characters, "The Python Hunt" was shot in the Everglades during the 2023 Florida Python Challenge: A 10-day competition where hundreds of snake hunters kill as many invasive pythons as they can in seven lands managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The annual, week-long challenge just wrapped up this year on July 19.

Most of "The Python Hunt" was shot in Dade and Collier counties, Florida director Xander Robin told The News-Press/Naples Daily News in 2025. He and his three film crews based much of their production out of Everglades City.

That meant some Southwest Florida people were filmed for the movie, including some Naples residents.

Why he decided to film the Florida Python Challenge

Robin doesn't usually make documentaries. But then a producer friend suggested he train his camera lens on the Florida Python Challenge.

"We went and explored the Python Challenge and met a bunch of people in 2022," he said last year. "And that whole experience confirmed to me there was a movie that I really, really wanted to make."

He especially loved that most of the hunters aren't professionals.

"In the challenge, over 90% of the people in it are amateurs," Robin said. "They're not affiliated with the government at all. And they're just figuring it out. And they're almost, like, aspiring to be these professionals, or they're aspiring to be Crocodile Dundee."

What it's like hunting Burmese pythons

The Palm Beach County native saw those Burmese pythons firsthand — both big and small — over 10 grueling nights hanging out with amateur snake hunters in the Florida Everglades, including the Collier County portion of Big Cypress National Preserve.

"You're out there hunting these huge snakes, you know," said Robin, who now lives in Broward County. "It was scary. The few times there was a big snake, it was scary."

The huge "swamp monsters" are terrifying, Robin said. But watch out for those smaller pythons, too.

“When it's a big snake, obviously, it's crazy exciting,” Robin said last year. “(But) sometimes the really, really big ones don't fight quite as much. The ones that are, like, 10 feet are the ones that are a little faster and crazier.”

The hunts usually happen at night with the hunters in their cars and trucks, windows down as they scan the road and swamp.

"All the snakes are nocturnal..." Robin said. "So the easiest way to catch a snake is to go out when no one is around and just keep covering ground really slowly, waiting for one to cross a dirt road — easier to spot that way — and then just grab it by the tail or just grab the head with your hand.

"Hopefully you have a really good flashlight or a light from the truck, itself. You're trying to get a good vantage point and you're riding 5 miles an hour just covering ground on a dirt road, waiting to see something."

One trick for spotting pythons: Looking out for a snake's "periscoping" head — sticking its head out of the water or the grass like a submarine periscope.

"The bottom of the belly of the snake is white," Robin said. "It kind of glistens a little bit if you shine over it with a flashlight. And some people see it that way. And that's a more challenging way to see it. Versus it just crossing the road."

Where to rent, buy Florida Python Challenge movie 'The Python Hunt'

You can't stream "The Python Hunt" for free yet, but here's where you can rent or buy it:

— To learn more about Xander Robin and "The Python Hunt," visit xanderrobin.com.

Charles Runnells covers arts and entertainment for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or email crunnells@usatodayco.com. Follow or message him on Facebook (@charles.runnells.7), Instagram (@crunnells1) and X (@CharlesRunnells).

Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News. Download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here.