Review: Hounds of Love

(imdb.com)

For years, the horror industry has benefitted from near-true events of home invasions and close-to-home murders. Movies like The Strangers captured attention because of the belief that its events could happen all too simply. Even movies like The Call, which abstract the limits of drama and leak into the thriller genre, can easily be seen through a horror lens. Continuing to blur the line of other genres and the oft slept on horror genre is Hounds of Love.

While deeply realistic, Hounds of Love is most certainly a horror movie. Telling the unnerving story of a girl horrifically kidnapped in Perth, Australia, Hounds of Love is dark and disturbing. Set in the 80s, Hounds of Love greatly benefits from its use of toxically dated furniture and costumes. The meticulously chosen set pieces ground the film in reality.

The film stars Emma Booth (Introducing the Dwights) and Stephen Curry (The King) as kidnappers Evelyn and John, and Ashleigh Cummings (Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance) plays Vicki, the young kidnap victim. Each of the three is stunningly perfect; immersing themselves in their respective roles and truly committing to the film's stark plot. Booth and Curry are especially good at showcasing the intrinsically disturbed nature of their relationship. Their toxic relationship is brilliantly elaborated on and as the film progresses, audiences are sure to be drawn in.

While absent of any supernatural occurrences or otherworldly creatures, Hounds of Love is still a truly terrifying showcase of real monsters are right before your eyes who are startlingly human. Hounds of Love will undoubtedly turn off some given its explicit and graphic content, but for those who can stick with it, the movie's compelling character study should offer more than enough. Each moment of the film heavies the heart more but thankfully, these moments never feel hopeless. Throughout the movie, the filmmakers provide enough disruptions in the downtrodden cycle of torture to illuminate glimmers of hope, thus ensuring that the viewers who stuck around after the premise aren't left with turned stomachs.

Hounds of Love is dark and unsettling, but it's also terrifically well-done. It's portrayal of a volatile relationship and troubled characters won't make viewers feel sympathy, but it will engross them in their story. It's the type of movie that never feels advantageous or tacky; choosing to focus on the characters and their roles, rather than grossly explicit scenes. Hounds of Love is a perfectly done film in the vein of movies like Nocturnal Animals.  It's far superior to similarly disturbing but ultimately trashy films like Wolves at the Door, and is most definitely worth the watch.