Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple, she soon observes the dynamic between her captors and quickly realises she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive.
Hounds of Love is an intensely crafted Australian thriller elevated primarily by its extraordinary performances, especially Emma Booth and Stephen Curry as the disturbed couple. The cinematography is genuinely exceptional — slow-motion suburban tableaux and suffocating interiors create a dread-soaked atmosphere that is among the most distinctive visual work in recent Australian genre cinema. The plot is a relatively familiar captivity survival thriller, competently structured around Vicki's psychological manipulation of her captors but not reinventing the subgenre. Novelty is moderate — the focus on the female captor's psychology and complicity distinguishes it somewhat, but the broader shape is familiar. The ending is grim and functional without being particularly surprising or resonant beyond its immediate emotional impact.