Killing Ground
Killing Ground (Damien Power, 2016) wr. Damien Power, prod. Joe Weatherstone; Aaron Pedersen, Stephen Hunter, Harriet Dyer, Tiarnie Coupland, Maya Stange, Ian Meadows, Aaron Glenane; thriller; shoot October 2015 NSW; MIFF August; thriller
As brutal as Killing Ground is, a good chunk of the actual violence happens off screen. Powers isn’t the kind of filmmaker that revels in the potential gratuity of his subject matter—he lets the audience peek at some truly awful stuff and let us come to our own conclusions about how it happened. This can be a risky move in the gore-saturated world of modern horror, but Power's restraint with the film’s violence hearkens back to horror pioneers like Hitchcock who doubled down on the audience’s ability to scare itself. Alex Springer, slugmag.
Killing Ground is a well executed, tension filled backwoods thriller. It is traditional in its concept but non-traditional in its execution, putting it above many other films of its type. The script is a refreshing change from common tropes and allows the audience to think for itself. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun thriller. I would be hesitant in recommending it to campers because after seeing this film, they may never go into the woods again. Mark Krawczyk, weliveentertainment.
Powers begins his crosscutting of timeframes nonchalantly, introducing the missing family unit of troubled teen Em (a terrific Tiarnie Coupland), mum Margaret (Maya Stange), cool dad Rob (Julian Garner) and toddler Ollie (Liam and Riley Parkes, sharing the call-sheet). As Sam and Ian become entwined in the mystery of the empty tent, the fate of the young family unfolds at the hands of charming sociopath German (Pederson, giving his all in a thrilling, against-type performance) and Chook (Glenane, arcing his ‘simple man’ archetype from dimwitted follower to coldblooded killer with an agonising intensity). The actors are superb in roles that recall David Argue's and Chris Haywood's moronic, murderous mates in Russell Mulcahy's Razorback, minus the tension-relieving buffonery. When the timelines converge, the narrative is powered by a relentless momentum that essentially doubles-down on the 'final girl' plight synonymous with the genre. Simon Foster, screen-space.
Garry Gillard | New: 23 January, 2017 | Now: 23 January, 2017