Landmine Goes Click (2015)
Gareth Jones
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Starring Sterling Knight, Spencer Locke, Dean Geyer, Kote Tolordava
Directed by Levan Bakhia
Three friends on a hiking trip through Georgia (in Europe, not the US!) find themselves caught in a horrifying predicament when one of their number, Chris (Knight), steps on a landmine while posing for a group photo.
All is not as seems, however, and following the disappearance of friend Daniel (Geyer), Alicia (Locke) – the sole female of the group – stays to comfort Chris and attempt to find a way to get him off of the weapon before his own fatigue forces deadly consequences.
Help appears to be at hand, though, through the arrival of local man Ilya (Tolordava) and his dog – but Alicia and Chris’ wishes couldn’t be further from the truth. Ilya is a sadistic, brutal psychopath who proceeds to put the pair through a grueling series of trials – eventually leading to violence and the brutal rape of Alicia.
Something not seen in any of the promotional materials for Landmine Goes Click is actually what makes it most interesting: a sudden switch of viewpoint for the final act, as Chris enacts a particularly devastating and ruthless kind of vengeance on the family man who so hideously wronged both him and Alicia.
Opening with a rather humorous miniature-based sweeping landscape shot, Landmine Goes Click gives the initial impression of something straight out of “South Park.” The tonality gives no idea whether director Bakhia does intend for this to look fake or is simply hamstrung by budget, as the group’s jeep zooms through a plastic landscape like something from the train set that your uncle used to vehemently protect in his basement. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the group quite literally entering the scene as toys amongst Ilya’s playset; then again, perhaps not.
Still, when the time comes to zoom in and get to the action, it’s done admirably with deft camera movement and a truly impressive blind cut that snaps us to the real-life action. Amusement becomes respect, and we’re free to move ahead with the horror.
And horrific it most certainly is. Landmine Goes Click is an uncomfortable watch, and those who automatically shy away from the kind of personal degradation and abuse seen in the likes of Funny Games would do well to give this one a wide berth. The cast, for the most part, do well, especially Spencer Locke’s handling of Alicia’s gradual forced disintegration – but the show-runners here are Knight and Tolordava, the latter being a repugnantly convincing opportunistic monster and the former, well…
Not getting into deep spoilers, because it’s where the story goes in Landmine Goes Click that lends its true impact, but note should truly be made of Knight’s performance during a final act that sees the wronged turn avenger, with a harrowing turn and the devastating realisation that he isn’t quite as broken by his previous experience as he’d like to think he is.
Landmine Goes Click is a difficult film to watch – not only because of the torture, rape and uncomfortable set-pieces, but also because it’s overlong. Lingering shots and uninventive camerawork do serve to put the focus on the actors, but a good trimming here and there, especially during Ilya’s torture of the despairing duo on the mountainside, would serve well to up the pace without particularly affecting the grimy, hopeless tone that Bakhia’s going for.
Landmine Goes Click is also no date movie. It’s brutal and bleak, even outright cruel, yet remains a gripping, worthy watch. Just don’t expect to walk away feeling clean.
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Film
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