Hounds of Love review: Psychologically intense journey into the dark

Ben Young’s ‘Hounds of Love’ official one sheet — Courtesy of Factor 30 Films

NOW IT’S DARK

I am a lover of psychological terror. Nothing surprises me anymore. Trust me when I tell you that this journey will stick with you for days. Vicki becomes the next abductee for Evelyn and John’s twisted little fantasy.

What evolves is a game of mental chess that’s as harrowing as it is frightening. Manipulation and mind screwing are the top of the order but people will do anything to survive. There’s one scene in particular that shook me to the very core. It’s so disturbing, I didn’t know how to react. On one hand, I was filled with rage. On the other, I was sympathetic.

Hounds of Love does not exist in neutral territory. Your emotions are continuously assaulted. However, you cannot tear yourself away. It’s like being at the scene of a potential train wreck. You know it’s going to happen, you need to run but you don’t want to miss the aftermath. Fear is a powerful aphrodisiac.

THE GOOD

Without writers, there would be no films. Ben Young’s Hounds of Love screenplay is outstanding. His masterful use of dialogue and his understanding of how to create tension through the use of camera technique ranks up there with Hitchcock. I predict career longevity for him. Remember his name.

Courtesy of © Factor 30 Films

The acting in this film is sublime. Ashleigh Cummings is the type of actress that makes you forget you are watching a movie. You think you’re actually watching someone being held against her will by mentally unstable people. You become invested in her fight for survival and you want to see her be triumphant.

Emma Booth, although her character is complicit in what her husband is doing, breathes life into the soul of an otherwise unsympathetic woman. You feel for her. She’s stuck in a relationship that’s caused her to lose something near and dear to her. Much like the girls she helps procure for her husband’s enjoyment, she is naïve and trusting. You want her to wake up from this nightmare.

Also, Stephen Curry should receive quite a bit of recognition for his turn as John White. His quiet intensity gives birth to the real menace in his soul. He’s utterly convincing as the psychopathic abductor. The smile he gives is soulless and the dead look behind his eyes chilling. His milquetoast exterior belies the extraordinary predator within. Simply put, Curry is one to watch.

THE VERDICT

is gritty and it is intense — it’s realistic. An hour and forty-eight minutes of a non-stop heart pounding and emotional journey that’s not easily forgotten.

opens in theaters and on VOD today from

Gunpowder & Sky

. Are you planning to watch?