Review – ‘Hounds of Love’ (2016)

A tense, dread-inducing horror-thriller that had me shouting at the screen numerous times in horror. Hounds of Love is a gritty Australian thriller about a couple who ritualistically and systematically abduct teenage girls in a suburban neighbourhood, right under everyone’s noses. The film sits in the same vein as films such as Snowtown, which I saw many years ago and remember being extremely disturbed by, not so much because of the content (although that was disturbing in and of itself) but because of the heavy, repressive atmosphere that covers the film from beginning to end.

The film is set in Perth, Australia and is placed in the rather niche sub-genre of Australian Outback horror, with the setting itself as a character. Wolf Creek is a film which utilises its outback origin as a tool for isolation, hopelessness and an expanse that travels as far as the eye can see. Although Hounds of Love doesn’t take place in the “Outback” so to speak, the repressive nature of the white-washed neighbourhood reminds us of what could happen behind closed doors in the place we call home.

The performances are superb all around, with special mention of Emma Booth & Stephen Curry as the depraved couple. Curry’s portrayal of John is cool and collected at points, and at others becomes a raving lunatic. He isn’t some killer running about the place with a large knife, he skulks in the shadows, manipulating and twisting those around him. Although he isn’t always the dominant killer he is portrayed to be, and is shown to be humiliated by the local alpha male who demands his money, it seems like there is always a bigger fish, and this makes him all the more terrifying, a killer who won’t stand up to the bully, but will hurt innocent people with his aggressive and sly cowardice.

Emma Booth is both a terrifying figure, but also tragic. She is clearly wanting to impress her long-time lover with exaggerated sexual acts and torture, yet is as much a victim as the girls they chain up, constantly under his thumb and doing anything to gain his approval. At points we can really see her struggle as she wrestles with the fact of what they are committing, but this is thrown away as soon as an opportunity to impress John reveals itself.

The relationship between the mother and daughter is presented well, their strained relationship and unspoken issues makes the outcome equally as dreadful. You really get a sense that there are some hurt feeling and unresolved problems in this family, and reminds us of the fact that it could be a lot worse.

The cinematography and framing are fantastic, and generate the most terror within the audience. At times, a horrible scene is about to occur, yet the action is hidden slightly by framing up against two door frames, with the action itself only taking up about a fifth of the frame, the rest taken up by domestic items such as tea cups, and family pictures. It really reminds us of the mundanity of their existence. There is a golden rule in horror which is that the things you don’t see are scarier because the audience will create it in their minds, and this is absolutely true of this film. A slow pan away from a closed door. A close up of a box being opened. A dark room. All these inherently don’t have to be perceived as bad, but as the audience we conjure up I have horrific imagery that the film doesn’t have to. The film also has these beautiful and poetic slow motion shots, where time is seemingly standing still, and is haunting.

The last 20 minutes of this film are some of the tensest I have endured in a film for a while. The stakes and emotions are high, and for the last part of the film you really have no idea where this film will go, until it does.

A depressingly realistic depiction of a depraved situation, Hounds of Love is a masterclass in dread.

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