Hounds of Love (2016)
October 24, 2024 4:37 PM - Subscribe
[Trailer] Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple. As she observes the dynamic between her captors she quickly realises she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive. -- IMDb
88% / 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.
That said: content warnings: rape, child molestation, spousal abuse, general degradation/cruelty/meanness
88% / 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.
That said: content warnings: rape, child molestation, spousal abuse, general degradation/cruelty/meanness
(looks like violent dog death, too)
posted by praemunire at 6:16 PM on October 24
posted by praemunire at 6:16 PM on October 24
Oh yeah, and the dog's murder. I can't stand animal cruelty; I think I must have just forgotten about the because the film was pushing so much in my direction.
posted by johnofjack at 12:40 PM on October 26
posted by johnofjack at 12:40 PM on October 26
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I don't know what to tell you about it, except maybe this: there are horror movies which want to yell "boo!" and run away tittering, and there are horror movies which want to fuck you up. This one wants to fuck you up. It wants to hurt you and it will probably succeed. Imagine Hostel but where the focus is not on visceral violence but rape and degradation.
Do I like this film? No, not really. It felt cheap. If the ending seemed cathartic, it was only because everything before it seemed so relentlessly traumatic. To me it felt cold and calculating and deeply mean. As a cultural object, though: it's oddly fascinating. I saw it three weeks ago and I've thought about it a lot since then.
In spite of my objections, yes, I've read Carol Clover's defense of I Spit on Your Grave as a feminist classic so it's not hard to imagine a feminist defense of this one as well. I'd have to watch it again, paying less attention to what it's about and more attention to how it's about what it's about to come to any conclusions about whether I think there's a strong argument there. Sadly, I'm just not ready for that yet. This one is not playing around.
posted by johnofjack at 4:42 PM on October 24 [1 favorite]