SXSW 2017 Films: ‘Hounds Of Love’ Takes Sexual Violence Too Far?

Australian thriller "Hounds Of Love" managed to shock the audience with its all too graphic portrayal of sexual assault at the SXSW 2017 festival. Nevertheless, it manages to get its message across with the help of the three main leads, who deliver awe-inspiring performances.

"Hounds Of Love" is one of the many films that debuted in North America at the SXSW 2017. It tells the story of Vicky (Ashleigh Cummings), a young and naïve high school teenager who is caught in between her parents getting a divorce. Being on an emotional roller coaster, her performance in school starts to suffer. Even though her boyfriend is of some help, doing all of her assignments for her, he is useless when it comes to consoling her.

The main events of the film start to unravel when Vicky gets into a nasty fight with her mother (Susie Porter) and rushes out of the house to attend a party. There she meets a seemingly friendly couple who invites her back to their place and Vicky accepts. Once they reach their home, Vicky discovers that the couple, who claimed to be small-time drug dealers, is actually a notorious serial killer (Stephen Curry) and his deranged girlfriend (Emma Booth).

What follows is a dark and horrifying fate of Vicky, who is chained up by the couple, raped, and tortured on a daily basis, Dread Central reports. Even though her parents are soon out searching for their daughter, it seems less likely as the film rolls on that they would manage to get to her on time.

According to Vanyaland, it is debatable whether the overly graphic depiction of sexual exploitation was necessary to get an important social message across to the audience. Since, the level of sexual content in the movie can easily be compared with that of the disturbingly graphic movie, "Irreversible," some of the assault scenes might be too violent for some audience.

Nevertheless, the performance of Emma Stone is exceptional. Her character sways between her love for her children and gratefulness towards her psychopathic boyfriend, who had rescued her from a heinous crime.