Hounds of Love: Horror Behind Closed Doors

About two thirds of the way through the new Australian horror film Hounds of Love, a door is closed, screams are heard and the shot fades to black. In this scene there is no explicit violence, and for the majority of the film the violence is off-screen and implied, yet my heartbeat must've been about to explode out of my chest. When the scene had finished, the blood pumping around my ears gone, only then did I notice that just to my right, a few seats down, a woman in the cinema was weeping, stifling back tears. That's how much of an impact this film had without showing any violence.

Hounds of Love is the debut film by Australian director Ben Young, not that you'd know it was his first time with this terrifying little film, about the kidnapping of a young girl by a serial killer couple in the suburbs of Perth. The cinematography and acting are all brilliant, with the central three performances of Ashleigh Cummings, ostensible victim, and Emma Booth and Stephen Curry as the serial killer couple, truly making this film memorable. So much is conveyed by a furtive glance, a scream, and a pursed lip in this film, that it proves the old adage in horror that the less you see of the monster or violent act, the more terrifying it becomes in your own imagination. This is horror in the same world as Texas Chainsaw Massacre: graphic

A clear inspiration for the tone of parts of the film

in what you think you see rather than what you actually do.

The two serial killers in the film relate back to the phrase "the banality of evil." This saying was first coined in by political theorist Hannah Arendt in her book "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil." This book concerned the reasoning of Adolf Eichmann, a leading member of the Nazi party during the holocaust. The phrase the banality of evil was attributed to his reasoning for carrying out the holocaust as "simply doing my job." Whilst this seems like fairly heady stuff to bring into a serial killer movie it perfectly fits. The serial killers at the centre of the film appear to be outwardly normal and loving, and yet they commit abominable acts upon their victims. This "grounding" of serial killer behaviour only heightens the terror, as it is far easier to believe that a couple like this could be living just down your street, as opposed to Hannibal Lecter.

On the subject of the violence in the movie, this is by no means a film I'd recommend to everyone. If you are a gore hound by way of Saw, or a horror newbie, this film may prove to be a bit of a wake up call. I'd like to call myself fairly hard to shock or freak out with horror movies but this film really pushed me to the limit. The implications of the violence hiding behind the suburban setting (the film is actually filmed in Perth) and the torturous tension the director wrings out of this premise will set the most hardened horror fans hearts racing. Highlights include a mid film potential dash for freedom, and a knife at the throat of one character towards the end.

When the implication of violence isn't make you cover your eyes in fear, the visuals will constantly put you in a place of unease and discomfort. Much like It Follows, Ben Young employs several sequences involving a slow tracking pan across screen, most notably the lurid opening from the killer's perspective, and a later sequences panning across the normal goings on in a neighbourhood, contrasted against what you know is happening inside one of the houses. At one point a character is filmed completely in silhouette, lurking in a doorway, and it is an image that will set the hairs on the back of your neck upright, ready to run to rip themselves from your skin to the nearest exit.

Surrounding the kidnap plot is the search for girl by her separated parents. There is yet more grounding in the fractured familial relationship that is pushed to the limit when the girl is kidnapped. You can feel the grief and pain in the family, as well as some disturbing parallels between the relationship of the killers and the separated parents.

I think the reason as to why these scenes of the parents frantically looking for the child hits hard is because these crimes have a basis in reality. In particular the crimes of David and Margaret Birnie, Perth based serial killers that killed four young women in the 1980s, before their fifth intended victim managed to escape and help the police arrest the couple, serve as obvious parallels. Whilst I understand that the filmmakers have drawn a distinction between the events of the film and the Birnie's saying that the film was inspired by several real life crimes rather than being inspired by this one in particular, I feel that is splitting hairs. Looking at some of the details of the crimes after the film it was clear that this real life crime had elements that were directly transplanted into the film.

This is something else to note if you consider watching this film. These crimes were not too far back in the past and it wouldn't be impossible to believe that people who were directly affected by these events may end up watching the film or simply be offended by its very existence, which I believe they have every right to be. That does not mean I believe the film should be banned, nor do I think the film is disrespectful. I can't say the film was enjoyable in a way that a Friday the 13th or Saw movie was enjoyable and in that way I can't say Hounds of Love is exploiting the tragedies of the past for cheap entertainment. This is a gruelling experiences made with skill and respect but would I recommend it to you? I've honestly no idea.