KILLING GROUND – Review

Review by Mark Longden

Although I’d be unlikely to say this about any other sub-genres, “family turns off road onto dirt track” movies feel a little played-out, like “seen one, seem them all” . A surprising thing to say about a genre with entries as varied as “Manos: The Hands Of Fate” and “The Evil Dead”, perhaps, but no less true; which is why it’s especially nice to see someone come up with a fascinating new twist on the genre, as first-time feature director Damien Power has done with KILLING GROUND.

Ian (Ian Meadows) and his girlfriend Sam (Harriet Dyer) are off for a weekend’s camping. Stopping at a bar to buy champagne and beer – he’s celebrating graduating from medical school – they meet German (Aaron Pederson), who looks like your stereotypical backwoods lunatic but is actually surprisingly helpful. When they arrive at the idyll-ish campsite, they see another family has set up about fifty yards down the way; although they don’t see the family, we see them – a couple, their teenage daughter and baby – and, given what we know from the publicity stills, we’re wondering when the bad stuff is going to kick off.

Kudos to Power for crafting a genuinely magnificent first half, with those two storylines, as well as that of German and his sidekick Chook (Aaron Glenane), progressing separately but subtly informing us of what’s really going on – it’s only when Ian and Sam look into their neighbours’ tent and see it badly disturbed inside, with no other people in sight, that things really start to kick off. Chook leaves German a note saying he’s “going hunting”, Ian and Sam decide it might be best to go back to town, and we’re ready to find out just what happens to cause that rather amazing promo photo at the top of the page. The time spent with people who don’t exactly make it to the end credits would be dull in lesser hands, but I think Power really excels with it, and kudos must also go to editor Katie Flaxman.

For such a great and cleverly made first half, the second is every gruesome wilderness-based horror you’ve ever seen. People are worse than animals, sexual violence happens, murder murder murder, good people are pushed to the limits of what they can cope with, and so on. I like that the rural area is shown as ugly and overgrown – Australia is a country designed to kill you, and it certainly tries. But even the horrible-beautiful undergrowth isn’t enough to distract from the very strong feeling that you’ve seen it all before. There are minor twists, such as the reaction of Ian and the treatment of the baby, but even then all that brings to mind is all-time worst “Don’t Go In The Woods”, an admittedly deep horror cut, but not anything you ever want anyone to be thinking of while watching your brand-new Sundance-premiering art-horror movie.

I wonder if there’s a case to be made for these sorts of movies having less impact, not due to audiences being familiar with the gore and scares, but because real life is becoming less and less pleasant. Especially among people who’d call themselves progressives (the audience for this movie, certainly), having a system which just keeps getting worse and worse leaves less time to be dwelling on fictional nightmares. What’s the point sweating crazy people in the woods when you might lose your job and your pathetically limited healthcare so some billionaire can have another yacht? Or maybe that’s just me?

Although there are problems with KILLING GROUND, it’s got more than enough fascinating elements to be worth your time when it goes on general release.

3 of 5 Stars

IFC Midnight will release KILLING GROUND in select theaters and on VOD on July 21st