Editorials
‘Killing Ground’: A Brutal New Year’s Survival Tale from Down Under [Horrors Elsewhere]
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
The Land Down Under has a menacing reputation to outsiders, and Australian cinema does very little to change that opinion either. Damien Power’s Killing Ground follows suit as he endangers campers in the days after Christmas. Yet, the director’s debut is not the usual routine of yokels terrorizing urbanites. Through heinous acts and immeasurable amounts of both physical and emotional pain, this movie reveals the dark parts of humanity — and not just the obvious ones.
Australian filmmakers have a tendency to embellish the perils of living in their continent’s most outlying areas. Leaving the city for these rural parts has always been a bad idea in Ozploitation. As fantastic as the likes of Rogue and Wolf Creek are, though, any semblance of reality they possess quickly fades once creative license takes precedence. Meanwhile, the dire situation in Killing Ground is consistently plausible. Blunt storytelling and cinematography raise the believability factor as well, seeing as viewers are never pulled out of the movie due to an unmistakably cinematic effect or stylistic choice. Katie Flaxman’s editing is also crucial when balancing the fluctuations in time. On the whole, Killing Ground taps into the rawness and force of classic grindhouse cinema a deal better than many of its contemporaries.
The story of Killing Ground is simple enough: Sam and Ian (Harriet Dyer, Ian Meadows) head to a remote beach for New Year’s Eve. Although they see a campsite set up nearby, the occupants are nowhere to be found. Sam’s concern proves to be right when she and Ian find an unconscious toddler named Ollie (Liam Parkes, Riley Parkes) nearby. They hurry to reunite Ollie with his missing parents (Julian Garner, Maya Stange), but they never stop to consider maybe he has no family to go back to. The answer is eventually revealed as two strangers, Chook and German (Aaron Glenane, Aaron Pedersen), show up to “help” them.
As 16-year-old Emily (Tiarnie Coupland) intentionally burns a marshmallow over an open campfire, she tells her father she likes watching it melt. Her simple amusement fits in with the movie’s overall theme of finding pleasure through destruction. Emily’s form of entertainment of course hurts nothing apart from a confection, whereas Chook and German’s idea of delight is completely ruinous. The two antagonists are driven by their baser desires; the deadly duo descends upon the Baker-Voss family during their campout and commits unspeakable acts. Their crimes only grow in enormity until there is nothing left to destroy. Or so they think.
Chook and German do not come from a standard stock of backwoods villains. Yes, they are inherently coarse, immoral, and prone to violence. German seems to be the more level-headed of the two while Chook is surprisingly shrewd. When the latter is not threatening his victims with physical harm, he toys with their heads. In spite of their minute but distinct differences, Chook and German’s dynamic is better depicted than usual in these sorts of movies. Indeed they are reprehensible lowlifes who deserve what all is coming to them. However, Power allows them to be more than cutout evildoers; they are real people who so happen to do incredibly bad things.
Fans of movies like Killing Ground have a certain level of respect for the inevitable violence. That is not to say they condone the goings-on. On the contrary, they hope the brutality serves a higher purpose other than providing fodder. The victims’ ordeals ideally have to amount to something cathartic. All that wickedness has to be purged in one way or another. Power’s script admittedly staggers in this regard; there is never quite any discernible ambition about this wretched scenario. If that is the case, then the audience can only chalk this up to the sad but abiding fact that misfortune happens to everyone.
Sam and Ian’s relationship is put through the ringer. On top of fending off two murderers together, they witness how one another works through a crisis. This is where audiences are likely to feel disappointed. As Sam finds courage in the darkest of times, Ian hesitates and fumbles again and again. His choices do not reflect well on his overall personality, but in light of everything, can Ian be entirely blamed for how he reacted in the face of inordinate stress? Viewers naturally want their movie’s heroes to be heroic. In the moments they are not, the decision leads to upset and criticism. Even so, characters failing to do the right thing all the time can be more beneficial. Killing Ground favors a realistic approach, and how Power goes about writing Ian is not the narrative misstep it is so often made out to be.
In the same breath, Sam’s potential frustration toward her partner’s cowardliness and misjudgment would be understandable. This is after a sporadic marriage proposal where both halves were not yet aware of the other’s strengths and weaknesses if ever put in a life-or-death emergency. Sam acts bravely in the face of danger and proves she has the maternal instinct. On the other hand, this nightmare only exposed a side of Ian that Sam was totally unaware of. Ian is a far cry from misogynists and killers like Chook and German, but Sam expects better from the man she intends to marry and have children with. That concerned expression on Sam’s face at the end says it all as she visits Ian in the hospital. She now sees her fiancé in a new and unflattering light.
Killing Ground is a thoroughly uncomfortable watch. Whether the wanton cruelty offends or the characters’ questionable calls leave a bad taste, Power’s first feature is an absolute test of endurance. The director strives to make the most unforgiving survival tale possible and comes extraordinarily close to that objective.
Despite ancient humans having already overcome several potential doomsday scenarios in real life, post-apocalyptic fiction used to be relatively rare until the invention of the atomic bomb convinced us that the end of the world could be just around the proverbial corner.
Since then, we’ve seen many different stories about the collapse of civilization and the strange societies that might emerge from the rubble, but I’d argue that one of the most interesting of these apocalyptic visions is the post-nuclear America of the iconic Fallout games. A witty satire of American jingoism and cold war shenanigans, it’s honestly baffling that it so long for us to finally see a live-action adaptation of this memorable setting.
Thankfully, Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet’s Fallout TV show isn’t just a great adaptation – it’s also an incredibly fun standalone story that makes the most of its post-apocalyptic worldbuilding. And since fans are going to have to wait a while to see the much-anticipated second season, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six post-apocalyptic thrillers to watch if you’re still craving more Fallout!
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own apocalyptic favorites if you think we missed a particularly fun one. And while it’s not on the list, I’d also like to give a shout-out to The Hughes Brothers’ underrated post-apocalyptic action flick The Book of Eli – which I recently covered in its own article.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. The Divide (2011)
Xavier Gens may be best known for his memorable contribution to the New French Extremity movement – with the eerily prescient Frontière(s) – but the filmmaker is also responsible for a handful of underrated thrillers that flew under the radar despite being legitimately solid films. One of the most interesting of these flicks is 2011’s The Divide, a single-location exercise in claustrophobic tension.
Telling the story of a group of New Yorkers who find themselves trapped in a bomb shelter after a surprise nuclear attack, this dark thriller is more interested in the ensuing social chaos than effects-heavy physical destruction. And while critics at the time were horrified by the bleak story and cynical characters, I think this mean streak is precisely what makes The Divide worth watching.
5. The Day After (1983)
One of the highest-rated TV films of all time, ABC’s The Day After is one of the scariest movies ever made despite being more of a speculative docu-drama than an actual genre flick. Following an ensemble of families, doctors and scientists as they deal with the horrific aftermath of all-out nuclear war, this radioactive cautionary tale was vital in convincing real-world politicians to review their policies about nuclear deterrence.
In fact, the film is even credited with scaring President Ronald Reagan into changing his mind about expanding the United States’ nuclear arsenal, with this new stance eventually leading to a treaty with the Soviet Union. With a story this powerful, I think it’s safe to say that The Day After is a must watch for Fallout fans interested in the more down-to-earth elements of the apocalypse.
4. The Postman (1997)
If I had a nickel for each unfairly maligned post-apocalyptic epic starring Kevin Costner that was released in the 90s, I’d have two nickels – which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. And while Waterworld has since seen a resurgence in popularity with fans defending it as a bizarrely expensive B-movie, I haven’t seen a lot of discussion surrounding 1997’s more serious vision of a fallen America, The Postman.
Following Costner (who also directed the flick) as a post-apocalyptic nomad who begins to rebuild America by pretending to be a member of the newly reformed postal service, this David Brin adaptation is consistently fascinating – especially if you view the story as a cynical fairy-tale, which was Costner’s original intention.
And while the flick suffers from some goofy dialogue and a bloated runtime, it makes up for this by having directly inspired Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding.
3. Turbo Kid (2015)
Turbo Kid may have been billed as an indie Mad Max with bicycles instead of cars, but François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell’s comedic throwback to the post-apocalyptic future of 1997 is much more than meets the eye. From quirky characters to madly creative designs, the flick rises above nostalgia bait by being a legitimately fun time even if you don’t get the copious amounts of ’80s and ’90s references.
And despite the horror-inspired ultraviolence that colors the frequent action scenes as we follow a young comic-book fan deluding himself into thinking that he’s a superhero, it’s the childlike sense of wonder that really makes this a treat for cinephiles. It’s just a shame that we’re still waiting on the sequel that was announced back in 2016…
2. Six-String Samurai (1998)
A lo-fi homage to spaghetti westerns and classic samurai films – not to mention the golden age of rock ‘n roll – Six-String Samurai is a must-watch for those who appreciate weird cinema. While I’ve already written about the madly creative vibes that make this such an entertaining flick, I think it’s worth repeating just in case some of you have yet to give this musical fever dream a try.
And appropriately enough for this list, the film was also a source of inspiration for the 3D Fallout games – especially Obsidian’s fan favorite New Vegas. The game even includes a New Vegas Samurai achievement (unlocked by killing enemies with a katana) with a vault-boy illustration modeled after the film’s rendition of Buddy Holly.
1. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
The grisly post-apocalyptic comedy that inspired the original Fallout games, L.Q. Jones’ adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s novella is just as shocking today as it was back in ’75. Telling the story of a teenage scavenger who travels the wastelands of 2024 America alongside his telepathic canine companion, A Boy and His Dog feels like a Heavy Metal comic brought to life.
While the film’s rampant misogyny and brutal violence make it tough to revisit under modern sensibilities, it’s still a landmark in post-apocalyptic cinema and one hell of a memorable ride. Not only that, but the flick also inspired the creation of Fallout’s most beloved NPC, the ever-loyal Dogmeat.
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