HOUNDS OF LOVE

In 1986 a husband and wife named Birnie raped, abused and killed four young women in Perth in western Australia. Their last victim managed to escape, and the serial killers were caught by the police. Ben Young’s directorial debut HOUNDS OF LOVE is based on the actual case, but it is not a conventional biography. The names are changed as well as the course of events, but what remains is the fascination with a criminal couple that takes the ecstasy of tormenting and killing young women as an aphrodisiac and filler for the soul. And so Evelyn and John White are in the car again in Perth, in search of the next victim. They find this victim in Vicki, a teenager who will go through hell on earth during the coming days and nights. The longer the Whites hold her captive, though, the better she understands how they function, the better she becomes at finding weak points. And Vicki knows her time is running out. HOUNDS OF LOVE is a tremendous example of thriller cinema and the best serial killer film in years: an impressively performed, splendidly directed affront and altogether a harrowing experience.