Killing Ground (2017)
Staci Layne Wilson
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Starring Ian Meadows, Harriet Dyer, Aaron Glenane, Aaron Pedersen
Directed by Damien Power
I’ve seen thousands of horror movies. Many thousands. At least several hundred have covered the exact same ground as Killing Ground. To wit, a family of campers in a remote area randomly runs into a clan of sadistic killers and violence ensues. Set in rural Australia, it brings to mind Ozploitation gems ranging from Long Weekend through Wolf Creek. As a reviewer, it’s partially my job to remember that the helmers of these bloody affairs are not making the movie for me, jaded genre fan, they are making the movie for general audiences and fresh horror enthusiasts. So, it is from this perspective I’m reviewing Killing Ground. While it doesn’t get an A for originality, it is a well-made and reasonably engrossing offering.
When a young doctor, Ian (Ian Meadows), and his publisher girlfriend, Sam (Harriet Dyer), decide to spend New Year’s Eve alone alongside a remote river, they are somewhat disappointed to find that someone else has had the same idea and beat them to the best campsite. At least, there’s a bunch of gear there… maybe the other folks just went for a hike. Wasting no time on the romantic setting, Sam asks Ian to marry her.
Meanwhile, we see glimpses of the other vacationers in flashbacks – Rob (Julian Garner), Margaret (Maya Stange), their 16-year-old daughter Em (Tiarnie Coupland) and toddler son Ollie (played by twins Liam and Riley Parkes), are making the best of their holiday in spite of some bickering. Sulky Em is in a mood, so she stays behind as her parents and baby bro head off to explore a nearby waterfall, which boasts a horrific history: it was the site of a massacre back in the days of the early-settlers.
Intercut between these coexisting tales we follow the nefarious doings of dodgy duo German (Aaron Pedersen) and Chook (Aaron Glenane). German has a vicious attack dog, and both carry rifles and other assorted weapons. Neither is too terribly bright, but early on it’s easy to tell that beardo German is the brains of the hunt-and-kill operation.
The separate storylines inevitably merge and all the pieces come together quite cleverly. At times, the perils of the hapless victims are genuinely gripping – toddler Ollie is, needless to say, a truly innocent victim and a great plot device to keep the audience fretting. Excellent acting from all elevates otherwise stereotypical characters into people worth watching for the just-right 88-minute runtime.
Cinematographer Simon Chapman does well with widescreen images of the vast state park, while zeroing in on the intimate acts of terror as necessary. Scenes set in the dark are just a bit too dark but they are realistic, I suppose. Leah Curtis’ score is subtle and unnerving (I never heard a single sting). Katie Flaxman’s editing is deft, considering all the elements of story that need to be eked out, out of order.
Horror hounds looking for another Wolf Creek (or even another Hounds of Love, which is a superior Aussie film to this) might be slightly let down, as overt violence is hardly shown. That’s fine with me – I appreciate suspense and a sense of dread more than blood-n-guts – but there is one kill in particular that really needed to be shown in all its gory glory. It leaves one feeling a bit gypped, in the end.
Overall, Killing Ground is a solid thriller and a good one to watch home alone in the dark.
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Film
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