Emma Booth and Stephen Curry in Hounds of Love

FGBFF 2019: Hounds of Love (2016) – Movie Review

The concept of serial killer couples has always fascinated me. I wonder how two depraved souls end up finding each other, and how they get to that point in their relationship where they’re ready to tell one another how much they like torturing and killing people. Imagining how that kind of conversation goes down is honestly pretty funny to me. Hounds of Love is a film that really dives into the relationship between two psychotic individuals in a way I’ve never seen before. Now, for the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, here’s my full review of Hounds of Love

Emma Booth, Ashleigh Cummings, and Stephen Curry in Hounds of Love

(Synopsis provided by IMDb.com):

Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple. As she observes the dynamic between her captors, John and Evie White, she quickly realizes she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive.

I’ve actually written about Hounds of Love quite a few times, because I just love everything about it! First off, the film does a fantastic job focusing on the humanity of these characters and their stories. It sets a much more realistic and disturbing tone by reminding us that even the most sick and twisted people are still human. Vicki (Ashleigh Cummings: NOS4A2 TV series) is a sympathetic and smart protagonist. I understood her situation before her kidnapping, and I was rooting for her every step of the way.

Hounds of Love was written and directed by Australian debut feature filmmaker Ben Young (Extinction 2018).  I’m incredibly impressed with his storytelling and his overall execution in this film. Also, Michael McDermott’s (Small Town Hackers TV series) cinematography is astonishing! Instead of witnessing the real horrors of this depraved couple, we’re shown the aftermath and left to our own imaginations, which, in a way, can make things seem a whole lot worse.

Ashleigh Cummings in Hounds of Love

I also have to give props to Emma Booth (Once Upon A Time TV series)! Her performance was my favorite out of all of them in this film. In one scene, she made me completely dislike her character, Evie. In another scene, I felt sorry and almost sympathetic for her. Stephen Curry (Rogue 2007) played the perfect bastard. I mean that as a compliment in every way. I disliked his character, John, every second of this film, and that means Stephen did a superb job!

Overall impact:

Hounds of Love was a fantastic piece of cinema that I will recommend to movie buffs until the day I die. It was a horror film with a protagonist you could root for, a disturbing pair of antagonists, and an overall artistic thrill ride! What were your thoughts on Hounds of Love? Let us know in the comments! 

About Karli Lawson

I basically grew up watching horror films and spooky things. I watched my first horror film when I was 4 years old. I've wanted to be a writer ever since I've read Stephen King books in middle school. I love writing and talking about my favorite genre. I hope to one day be successful in screenwriting and filmmaking. Everything horror, of course!

Check Also

Leave All Expectations At The Door And Just Let ‘H.P. LOVECRAFT’S THE OLD ONES’ (2024) In

I confess that I am a little bit late to the H.P. Lovecraft show. I’ve …