IFC Midnight just released another handful of stills from gritty Aussie horror Killing Ground, which heads to selected US cinemas on July 21st, together with a VOD release. Among the images we see the film’s outback antagonists Chook and German menacing camping couple Ian and Samantha. Hard to ignore however, is the one image in which a full moon appears to be floating in front of the trees. Hmm. Can’t really tell you what’s going on there.
The feature debut of award-winning writer/director Damien Power, the visceral survival thriller tells the story of Ian (Ian Meadows) and Samantha (Harriet Dyer), who stumble upon an isolated campsite to find an SUV and a tent, but no sign of the occupants. As night falls and the campers fail to return, Ian and Sam grow increasingly uneasy. The discovery of a distressed child wandering in the woods kicks off a chain of events that sees the couple become the prey of vicious criminals Chook (Aaron Glenane) and German (Aaron Pedersen).
In using the hostile Australian landscape to create an atmosphere of unease and isolation, Killing Ground joins a long tradition in genre cinema from Down Under that takes in the likes of Picnic at Hanging Rock and Wake in Fright to Mad Max and Wolf Creek. Following its US release, the film will play at London’s Horror Channel Frightfest on August 27th.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
