Ben Young's new Australian feature film, Hounds of Love, presents us with a twisted couple who get off on abducting teenage girls, only to chain them to a bed in their creepy house while torturing and raping them, before murdering and burying their bodies in the nearby forest. One day, when they cunningly lure young Vicki (Ashleigh Cummings) into their home, they find themselves, at long last, discovering just how different from one another they may actually be, much to both of their surprise.
As a woman who is conflicted about her boyfriend's maniacal serial killing ways, Evelyn White (Emma Booth) displays a quiet rage that is simultaneously off-putting and relatable. She's the modern day Lady MacBeth, but with a "heart" - albeit an easily manipulative one, controlled with just enough psychotic subtlety by her coarse-as-hell boyfriend, John (Stephen Curry). Cummings' inner turmoil is scarily and realistically authentic, both psychologically and physically.
But make no mistake: the real wonder here is Booth, an actress with raw talent that is heartbreakingly vast in the range of emotions her complex character has to convey. When Hounds of Love is over, you may find yourself wondering if what you've just seen is just another dramatic torture porn, or a film with unexpected depth that explores the thin line between good and evil in the most original way. Me? I'm leaning towards the latter.
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