“Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can sometimes be tragic.”

An abandoned tent in the middle of nowhere, and the thought… “What’s the worst thing that could’ve happened to its owners?”  This chilling vision and morbid thought would later become the inspiration for 2016’s Australian low budget independent film Killing Ground!  Written and directed by Damien Power in his full length feature debut, this heart pounding thriller is taking the festival circuit by storm in a BIG way!  First screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2016, it would eventually become an official selection at Sundance the following January with raving positive reviews.  IFC Midnight, the leading distributor in Independent Horror, has done it again with Killing Ground. Audiences everywhere are sure to be rocked and possibly disturbed to the core with its wide release coming in the summer of 2017!

THE PLOT

The film actually presents three different storylines that at first don’t seem to fit.  We first meet Ian (Ian Meadows) and Sam (Harriet Dyer), a young couple on a romantic camping trip just outside of Sydney to celebrate the New Year.  Ian seems to have the perfect spot picked out: a riverside camp ground that he visited as a kid.  Upon arriving, they discover another tent just a few yards away.  Although it could put a damper on their plans, the couple stays optimistic that absolutely nothing will ruin their weekend. Boy, are they ever wrong!  As the hours pass by, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of the neighboring tent’s owners, and the next morning Sam decides to inspect the tent. It now seems that there’s something definitely wrong with the situation.

We then jump to a second storyline:  Rob (Julian Garner), Margaret (Maya Stange), their teenage daughter Em (Tiarnie Coupland), and toddler son Ollie are also on vacation in the same location.  Em, being the typical teenager, isn’t really into the whole “family outing” thing.  She decides to stay behind as her parents go for a hike, taking Ollie with them.

Elsewhere, we’re introduced to two local outcasts, German (Aaron Pedersen) and his friend Chook (Aaron Glenane), who seem to spend their time creeping on girls and being a nuisance to the community.  However, they do seem to be “courteous” enough to provide directions to a nice local campsite.

It’s here that we start to realize that the storylines are from slightly different time periods, probably just a few days apart.  Back at the camp, Ian and Sam decide to pack up and leave, but they soon discover a lost and disoriented Ollie wandering the woods alone.  As it turns out, the owners of the other tent are Ollie’s family.  Determined to locate Ollie’s family and put the puzzle pieces together, Ian and Sam are greeted by Chook who agrees to help with the search.  Although, once German arrives, the situation quickly goes from bad to worse, and the mystery slowly begins to unravel to a startling truth.  Now Ian and Sam must quickly shift into survival mode with the odds strongly stacked against them!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

I was among the privileged crowd of horror fans to witness the first Texas premier of this film at the 12^th annual Texas Frightmare Weekend convention!  I went into it semi-blind, and am VERY happy I did.  It was easily the best screening of the weekend this year!  This movie hit all the right notes on making a horror/thriller great.  Acting, directing, and cinematography were superb, and the tension levels in this movie rival that of Don’t Breathe.  What really made this an effective horror film is that it has one element that is lacking in most modern horror films today: character development.  In Killing Ground, you actually care about the characters, and when it really gets going, their fate is much more impactful.

The filmmakers also did a great job of making the most of the low budget by creating a dark and realistic atmosphere which in turn, made the violence seem very real and disturbing.  On that note, the violence in this film may be a little too much for some viewers.  It’s not a splatterfest or over the top gory, but sometimes it’s what you don’t see that really gets into your head.  Don’t get me wrong, the onscreen violence is there and there are a couple of scenes that are shocking.  One in particular was so extreme that it left the entire audience stunned…you’ll know what I mean when you see it.

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this one!  It was a great film, and I have no doubt that it’ll do very well when it gets its wide release later this year.  Director Damien Power showed that he knows what he’s doing, and I really look forward to what his next project is in the future!