Indie
[Sundance Review] In ‘Killing Ground’, the Australian Hills Have Eyes!
Wolf Creek set a high bar for Australian horror. Killing Ground is a lot more polished than the raw original Wolf Creek but captures the same intense, unforgiving violence.
You sort of know the setup is introducing characters who may or may not survive. Ian (Ian Meadows) and Sam (Harriet Dyer) are a cute couple going camping in the woods. There’s also a family with a teenage daughter Em (Tiarnie Coupland) and a baby. Of course there’s no cell phone reception in the wilderness.
Meanwhile, two killers (Aaron Pedersen and Aaron Glenane) scope out potential victims. Ruling out a single mother is good for her and paints them as dude bro sexists on top of murderers. These guys are real creeps. They pee on a car just to be A-holes. Like you can be antisocial sociopaths without being gross.
When these killers come after the campers, the victims are smart. Em lays on the horn just because a stranger is harassing her, before she even knows he’s a killer. Sam can actually fight back.
[Related] Keep up with all of our 2017 Sundance Film Festival coverage
Killing Ground is reminiscent of The Hills Have Eyes with a long torment of the family. They women have been raped, off camera but seeing the stark aftermath is a plenty horrifying reminder. It gets even worse if you can imagine that but I won’t spoil what’s worse than rape. The sick games the killers play at their expense are unsettling and they keep it going extra long so you feel the threat
If you want to make a solid survival horror, the woods of Australia is as good a place as any. They could’ve done a cabin in the woods too but a grueling fight for life was writer/director Damien Power’s jam instead. Playing in a genre sandbox is vital and Power does give his film a certain distinction.
Killing Ground has balls. The atrocities it presents are all the more sobering because they are real. There’s nothing that couldn’t happen in real life were human beings so heartless. And as a filmmaker’s calling card I can’t say I’ve seen anything this brutal presented so elegantly. Usually it’s a Texas Chainsaw Massacre type rough and raw aesthetic. Even Saw had the undercranked choppy sequences for the traps.
Perhaps it is a first to see a film this brutal look so polished. The well shot widescreen wilderness, with steady tracking shots, makes the violence unfold not in the handheld low grade 16mm of an old grind house movie, but in the familiar setting of a movie that should feel comfortable.
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
4 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Late Night with the Devil’ at Home
Spring 2024 Horror Preview: 12 Horror Movies You Don’t Want to Miss
The ‘Scary Movie’ Spoof Franchise Is Getting a Reboot at Paramount!
‘Ready or Not’: Radio Silence Filmmakers Tease the “Absolute Banger” of a Sequel That’s Taking Shape
“We Built Every Creature” – ‘Alien: Romulus’ Goes Heavy on the Old School Practical Effects!
