In a set piece that suggests the filmmakers took a morbid glee in staging this material, the couple chain a drugged Vicki to a bed, and she watches them writhe to “Nights in White Satin. including horse and camel racing, falconry and hunting with hounds. Vicki (Ashleigh Cummings), a teenager distraught over her parents’ separation, is approached by Evelyn (Emma Booth) and John (Stephen Curry), who lure her to their home with the promise of pot.
The setting for “Hounds of Love” is Perth in 1987.
(There’s no connection to the Kate Bush song.) Its main problem, though, is that it never answers a basic question: Why are we watching this? That the news media in Western Australia has noted similarities to a real case - the 1986 murder spree of David and Catherine Birnie - only heightens the sense of exploitation. It is based on the relationship between Sonya and Sam, Sonyas view of the world and how she sabotages Sams dates - until she meets Bill. It’s a tense, sharply assembled debut feature from Ben Young. Hound of Love 2021 YOUR RATING Cast & crew IMDbPro Short Comedy Sonya (a dog) is protective over Sam, her best friend and owner. So perhaps it’s best to set aside such reservations about the Australian film “Hounds of Love” - which is hardly a brainless addition to the genre. Cinephiles who object to serial-killer movies for their subject matter risk hypocrisy, unless they’re prepared to apply the same standard to “Psycho,” “The Silence of the Lambs” or “Seven” - some of the darkest and most enduring visions in cinema.