Love Hunters

I have always been a fan of Australian Horror/Thrillers. Let's face it, with the vast outback and big Cities Down under, there is a lot of room for varying plots and story lines that make for great entertainment.

"Hounds of Love" is a story set in the late 80's about a psychotic couple who kidnap and abuse young women. Without giving too much away about the story, it follows a common theme often seen in Horror/Thriller Genra's made these days but, to its credit, there are sub plots and other mysterious factors going on beneath the surface of the main story.

I thought the acting was above par and the low light settings in the home and quirky behavior of the main characters (the kidnappers) lends an eerie air to the film that works well to bolster the uneasy feeling you get watching the film.

There are many frustrating points in the film, which are by design. It is no easy task pulling off scenes that get under your skin so much you want to scream at the television or movie screen. This film does so on several occasions thanks to the talent and ability of the director and actors.

What I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that a commonly told story had many sub plot variations happening as well as sticking to the main thematic plot. This, I found, was unique to the modern day Kidnap/torture stories film production companies pump out as often as a McDonald's commercial.

Of course, you be the judge but I definitely recommend this film for fans of the Genra/s. Anyone who has ever read any of my reviews will know I am not one to hold back when a film stinks to high Heaven. I tell it as it is. With that, you will get your $'s worth with this film.

Oof, that was brutal. It's movies like this that make me question why I keep watching movies like this.

The story is quite simple, boiling down to a murderous couple tormenting their latest victim. As a Canadian, it brought to mind the relationship between Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, but upon researching the film, it seems it more closely shadows the case of Australian couple David and Catherine Birnie. Which is to say that I suppose every country has a similar tale that lives in local infamy, while the world at large tries to tune out how frequently these things actually happen.

Attempting to turn this kind of tragedy into a piece of entertainment puts you on shaky ground. Even the survivor of the real life case has called out the film for needlessly drawing attention to these horrible people. The movie does go out of it's way to avoid the gore porn tag, with a lot of the violence being implied and appearing off-screen, and the tone never approaching a glorification of the situation. The filmmakers do understand the gravity of the circumstances and make you uncomfortable by design. There is a mastery in how they deliver this, and many of the scenes are chillingly effective.

The movie also justifies it's existence through it's exploration of the relationship dynamic of the killers. It poignantly portrays domestic abuse and the kind of conditioning that emotionally shackles people to situations that externally seem obviously bad. It handles this subject matter well, with a believable dynamic between leads Emma Booth and Stephen Curry.

Nevertheless, the very nature of the premise is grotesque, regardless of how much tact you approach it with. It's brutal exposition of misery is sure to leave you feeling icky, and will be of little value to all but the most calloused moviegoers.

"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.

Great movie about horrific stuff. There ya go. Evelyn and John cruise Perth school yards, fishing for teenage girls with friendly Aussie banter and car ride offers. The pleasantries end right there.

As the secret predator couple in the neighbourhood, Emma Booth and Stephen Curry are spectacular in their complicated performances. Charming and congenial, slick and methodical, brutal and sadistic, vulnerable and suspicious; all bases are covered. "Hounds of Love" is about serial sexual homicide, and it is as brutal as that sounds. Not in an exploitative manner (most of the cruelty is off screen), but in its believable depiction of perversion, and the matter of fact execution by the monsters.

Sporting a cheesy mustache, Curry presents a tiny, unassuming wimp - he is humiliated and berated about money owing. Yet deep inside he is a tight wound ball of explosion, and the creepy manipulator of all crimes. Evelyn is a more than wiling accomplice, but she has a wounded past, shows some semblance of sympathy, and is thus the weak link in the monster couple. How all this plays out in the most recent triangle is expertly framed by newbie filmmaker Ben Young.

"Hounds of Love" is a difficult watch, but it's also difficult to ignore.

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.