Love Hunters

I thought that this movie was perfectly fine with some really nice performances. The movie looked great with some really nice shots. Visually it was a pleasure to watch. The plot was nothing wildly original.. or really original at all. Yet, still did a good job at keeping you engaged with a certain amount of thrill while still moving a little slowly/building tension.

The three main actors really did a great job, the two crazies and the young girl. Their performances were grounded and visceral on multiple levels, the best of the three being the crazy woman, bravo. The parents paled in comparison and their delivery in their one scene together was honestly cringe and probably should have been cut.

All in all I thought most everything was well done, and if it had just had a bit more of originality sprinkled into the plot I think it could have been even more successful. Well done regardless, would recommend.

"Never talk to strangers. If someone ever tries to take you, fight with everything you have." ― Lisa Unger, Ink and Bone

Young writer-director Ben Young must have watched Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs at least once because his Hounds of Love has earmarks of brilliant thriller/horror ultimately hinging on character and not blood. Young even introduces his film by observing that the real terror comes from what is not seen.

Much of this film, set in Perth, Australia, at Christmas time, 1987, is about the idea of a psychotic couple abducting and killing young women who happen to be stupid enough to get in the car of strangers. I say "idea" because once the girl is chained to a bed, the couple begins to reveal their psychoses, almost exclusively about the loss of children in their lives.

Although John White (Stephen Curry) does most of the physical heavy lifting as he abuses the girl, his partner, Evelyn (Emma Booth), is the tormented one and the object of abducted teen Vicki's (Ashleigh Cummings) campaign to drive a wedge between the two. The home and neighborhood is working class Perth, where similar events actually happened; the atmosphere is joyless living, not impoverished, just not nourished by the better angels of culture.

As the film moves assuredly to the climax, the characters' arcs move toward their deserved fate: Vicki shows a presence her initial bratty teen side did not evidence, John becomes more vulnerable because he is visceral rather than cerebral, and Evelyn struggles with her desire to have her children back in her life and her desire to be loved by John.

The title, Hounds of Love, ingeniously plays off the couple's dog and everyone's hunt for love, even Vicki's wounded but intrepid mother. Yes, life can have its moments of horror beyond the terrors of abuse and abduction.

Hounds of Love is meaty film from a talented filmmaker and a delight to see in a summer sure to be filled with explosions not of the mind.

In the same vein as the other Aussie horror movies of late, Wolf Creek and The Loved Ones, Hounds of Love is a very gritty tale of teenage abduction by a mature couple.

This is a tough watch for a lot of people and casual watchers will likely be horrified that anyone should want to commit something like this to film.

That being said, this is very well made for something on a tiny budget. The direction, editing and especially the acting by the the three main leads is excellent.

Thankfully, we don't get to see the worst bits of the violence. The director pans away or let's events occur behind closed doors whenever a particular flashpoint occurs.

I would recommend with caution. If you are against animal cruelty of any kind, this will be your worst nightmare.

I write as an escaped West Australian. We've all got something to live down.

Like Adelaide, Perth has had classic serial killers with an eerie Australian twist. Riffing on a grim 1980s case, Ben Young delivers a fine first feature, for which the Metacritic 72% is not far off the mark. The cinematography is great, capturing the endless hot sky and bleaker suburbs (read Coolbellup or Hamilton Hill) of the 1980s. Also a fine score. The three key players are excellent. The script maybe needed a little more rounding for the ending to gel properly, but I sure felt the tension.

As with Don't Tell and Berlin Syndrome, here's a rare Aussie feature that captures Australia but which I'd be proud to show overseas. Discouragingly, I wonder if the three taken together will pull much more than $1-2m.

Actually uses a real street name, no kidding. Hope it doesn't lead to disaster tourism. Meanwhile, some eagle has already spotted the curious anomaly of the 7-character number plate, never issued in Perth before the 1990s.

I will confess to often finding Australia to be a haunting place. I have a strange fascination with it. It's hard to explain, but I really enjoy watching Australian films, because of that.

Hounds Of Love is a well made psychological drama. It's harrowing, because of it's subject matter, but I also find it quite subtle, in the way it's handled. The central characters are all well played, but Emma Booth as tormented wife Evelyn White, I found pretty mesmerising.

It was also refreshing to see the male protagonist (Stephen Curry) portrayed as a streak-of-piss coward, as I feel many of these types of individuals are, in real life.

Class.