By Morgan Lawrence
“Don’t talk to strangers” is an adage as old as time. Let alone, one is never supposed to get into a car with strangers; no matter how charming their Australian accent is. Hounds of Love captures the story of a kidnapped teenager, Vicky Maloney, in the quaint and quiet suburb of Perth, Western Australia in 1987. Setting the film during this decade made it scarier because in the 1980s, there were few cell phones, meager forensics, and miniscule police work.
Sadistic and animalistic, John and Evelyn keep their spark alive by kidnapping young girls then disposing them after their twisted thrill is gone. Vicky becomes a victim of the couple’s seemingly harmless and laid back personalities when they offer her a ride with a staged, children’s car seat in their backseat.
Writer and director, Ben Young, beautifully crafted his film with intricate shots, haunting music, and deeply layered characters that illustrate how horrific things can happen right under us. With success of the film’s York premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and SXSW (South by Southwest), Hounds of Love was named in Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 20 films to see.
Distributed by Gunpowder & Sky production studio, Hounds of Love is a boldly written, intense thriller where the audience witnesses the desperate and clever fight to escape from two psychopaths down under. You can find the trailer on YouTube and this film will be showing at the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center located at 1618 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard until Thursday, May 25.
