Killing Ground

It would be easy to file Killing Ground under what has become a popular and somewhat overdone trend in the horror genre, where innocent campers are ruthlessly massacred by a madman with a shotgun. Although Damien Power shows nothing but respect for the conventions of the genre, he is by no means servile to them. In accordance with the unwritten tradition of Ozploitation cinema, the Tasmanian director not only portrays the Australian outback as an uncharted part of the world, where—recalling well-known advertising slogans—no one can hear your screams, but he does so boldly and with panache. The story of a young couple ringing in the New Year at a campsite is intertwined in parallel with macabre scenes from recent events that took place in the titular killing ground. Through a clever narrative form, the audience is painfully aware that Sam and Ian are heading toward certain death. Power's choice of narrative style intensifies the feeling of the inevitability of impending disaster.