The Review (Spoiler Free)
“Killing Ground,” a 2017 Australian horror film directed by Damien Power, is a harrowing journey into the darkest corners of human nature. The film’s narrative structure is non-linear, a choice that adds a layer of complexity to the unfolding events. The story converges on three groups of characters at a remote camping site, each with their own timeline and perspective.
The film opens with a couple, Ian and Sam, who are embarking on a camping trip to celebrate their engagement. Their idyllic getaway takes a nightmarish turn when they encounter a deserted tent and a wandering toddler covered in blood. This discovery sets off a chain of events that intertwines their fate with that of a family enjoying their vacation and two menacing locals with a sinister past.
Power’s direction is unflinching as he delves into the primal fear of being hunted. The Australian wilderness serves as an unforgiving backdrop, amplifying the sense of isolation and vulnerability of the characters. The performances, particularly by Aaron Pedersen and Aaron Glenane as the antagonists, are chillingly effective, embodying the unpredictable danger that lurks within the human psyche.
The film’s structure, which reveals the events out of sequence, demands the audience’s attention and rewards it with a deeper understanding of the characters’ motivations. However, this narrative choice also means that the suspense is derived more from the ‘how’ and ‘why’ rather than the ‘what’ as the story unfolds.
Critics have noted that “Killing Ground” does not shy away from brutality and realism, making it a tough watch for some viewers. The film has been praised for its intense storytelling and its ability to keep the audience on edge, offering a white-knuckle experience for fans of the genre. On the other hand, some reviews suggest that the film’s grim nature and familiar tropes may not resonate with all audiences, with the non-linear storytelling not being enough to set it apart from other films in its category.
Ending Explained (Spoiler Alert!)
“Killing Ground” delves into the relationship between Sam and Ian. Recently engaged, their commitment is immediately tested when Sam is kidnapped by ruthless villains, forcing Ian to choose between risking his life to save his fiancée or saving himself. Ultimately, he chooses self-preservation.
It’s disheartening to witness Ian’s missed opportunities to rescue Sam, especially when panic overtakes him. In a twist of fate, one villain accidentally kills another, presenting Ian with a chance to act. All he needed to do was seize the gun from the deceased villain and pursue Sam’s captor. Instead, he opts to seek police help, which consumes the entire day. By the time he returns to the campground, night has fallen, and Sam’s fate at the hands of the villain is uncertain. Despite knowing the risks, Ian chooses the safer route.
In a fortunate turn of events, Sam escapes and survives. The movie culminates in a hospital confrontation where Sam, face to face with Ian, comes to a stark realization about his character. Now, she faces a choice: stay with him or leave.
However, the film’s true hero is an infant. Despite severe abuse, the baby fights for life and refuses to succumb. In a harrowing moment, a villain hurls the baby to the ground, leading us to believe it’s the end. Yet, as the story unfolds, we learn of the baby’s survival. In the final scenes, a dog belonging to one of the deceased villains comes to the baby’s aid, vigilantly guarding him. The baby’s fate is left unknown, but there’s hope for rescue and survival. This poignant scene begs the question of the director’s intent, leaving the audience to ponder its significance.
In the Nutshell
“Killing Ground” is a testament to the power of indie filmmaking and the horror genre’s ability to explore societal fears. It’s a film that may divide audiences, but it undeniably leaves a lasting impression with its stark portrayal of violence and survival. Whether you’re a horror aficionado or a casual viewer, “Killing Ground” is a film that challenges the conventions of the genre and offers a raw, unapologetic look at the darkness that can exist in both nature and humanity. I give 4 out of 5 stars.
I would like to know what you think of the movie. If you already saw this movie, help us rate the movie by click on the Star Rating.
Profile
Genre: Thriller
You can watch on:
My only concern is the baby what happen to the baby fuk everybody else and the damn movie it self they wrong for not giving the baby peace that really fukd with me WHAT THE HELL HAPPEN TO THE CHILD
Omg I’m with you on that these fucking movie makes feel terrible cause idk what the hell happens to the baby !!! I want to believe he gets rescued, I don’t care about nobody else !!!
I think the dog would eventually have gotten hungry and eaten little Oliver.
Don’t even go there, you person!!!!!! The baby was innocent. I believe that those men were
crazy and they should have stayed in jail. Men like those don’t deserve to be men and their
balls should be cut off so they won’t hurt anyone else.
Seriously how am I supposed to sleep at night knowing Ollie is out there! Fuk really messed with me.
İ urgently need an answer from the director why does he show what happened to the baby !! horrow movies dont do this in geneal ,people die or they survive but in between is unaccaptable!!
I kept screaming pussy during this movie bc the damn fuck tard white dude wouldnt get his pussy ass up and help he let that mf throw the baby I wish ian would’ve died the girl had more balls than he did shit the baby had more balls than he did
I ugly left me angry..and confused the baby suffered too much and left behind again…and that fucken weak doctor
I just watch this movie and I wish I never did because the baby was left.
I was really concerned about the baby but the baby was still alive with the dog side by side guarding the baby good movie Bad ending
Yeah I’m more concerned about the baby. I would have felt better about the ending if she had gone back to look for the baby after killing the bad guy. But instead she and her boyfriend woke up safe in hospital beds while the baby is still dying of dehydration, starvation, and after getting thrown to the ground probably internal bleding, broken bones, and/of a fractured skull. Because the baby wasn’t saved, that ruined it for me. The movie sucks without the baby being saved.
I’m with you. When they’re heading back and she learns that Ian neglected to save the baby, you would think she’d have insisted a search party go look for little Ollie.
I def agree…. if thr baby was saved i would gave at least 8 or 9 but poor bby
I agree with other comments about the baby. Wish they had sent someone up to find him and rescue him.
A couple of points aren’t quite accurate here though: “To make things easier for him, one of the villain even shot and killed other villain by accident.” Chook didn’t kill German by accident, German said to Chook ‘finish me’ so Chook did.
Also, Ian DID leave but he came back with help (police) to help rescue Sam and they both escaped together… so when you say she “realized Ian isn’t the man she thought he was” that’s just not true. He basically saved them both of them, and made it so they could get to safety after Sam smashed Chook’s head.
he did kill him by accident, the initial shot was basicly death for him for germ can’t go to the hospital because of what they are doing and his injury was probably fatal, so yes that shot may not have killed him outright but he will die a slow painful death which is why he asked to finish him.
Ian took the easy way out, you and I both know that Ian’s choice would have ended in sam’s death if chook wasn’t so stupid. Chook I can’t say dumb because he did made some good ideas aking out the cops but he not the type to make make good choices, a hint to that thru the whole first portion of the movie along with him begging germ to tell him what to do about the situation. he wanted to do what he did the first murder, rape the women with their loved ones watching then kill them…if he wasn’t too obsessed witht hat sam was definitely dead after he raped her instead of dragging her along.
Ian I can understand how he felt he didn’t know what to do he was scared of making the wrong choice before ollie was thrown down you can see his really wanted to but hesitated he let his fear stop him and he could of definitely got the gun soon if he was faster but he was too afraid of making noise. Ian was just too scared period and in all honesty I feel sam would have survived without him maybe but him not taking ollie to get some help made her so mad that she basicly said fk it and took the risk she probably didn’t care at that moment if Ian was killed in that crash, it was of that moment ofc…when your life is in danger and your adrenaline is going with no break in sight it affects ppl differently Ian wasn’t a fighter he proved that but same since the start proved she was a fighter
But Chook told him he was going to kill Sam if he didn’t meet them where he had Sam stung up, so for all he knew, she could be dead. If he was brave, he’d have grabbed Germ’s rifle and shot him , but he had mentioned that he’d never shot a gun before
Exactly rene
Wtf lol ..dude left..he had a chance to grab the gun right away when germ was shot but dumb fuck stood there like an idiot.. and second he left poor ollie there …like who the fuck does that..whats wrong with you.. he left the bby with out checking if he was alived n he boned out ….i would have been pissed too n crashe the car..she had more balls than he did..n she didnt scream when he told her to scream… big balls
He definitely wasn’t the man she thought he was. Any man that would leave the baby laying on the ground when all he had to do was pick the baby up and run for help would not be the man I would want to marry and have children with. It truly showed his character. I was so disappointed in him. I hated that they did not show what happened to the baby. I choose to believe he was rescued but it definitely bothered me. I would never be able to look at him the same.
Why didn’t the say what happened to the baby omg I see he had survived being thrown down but nothing omg why did they not give that baby closure!!!!
Remember, Ollie’s Mom had been discussing cognitive therapy and rewriting the ending of a nightmare? I think the lack of a concrete ending is meant to leave it up to the viewer, allowing each person to come up with an ending that feels right to each person in the audience. Does the dog drag Ollie to safety, do they ever send out a search party, does Sam end up marrying Ian?
I wouldnt married Ian… shes safer without him , she can defend herself..what a joke of a man..
Ian…WTF…what a looser! Agree about the baby…why leave that out and Sam should have told Ian to F-off.
What, Happen to the baby!very bad ending. They the writers, should not of left the viewers hanging!! Stephen King, Will give you some tips on writing, And maybe next movie will, Have a better end!
Frustrating incomplete ending. The writer/ director is an ass for not letting us know what happened to the baby. Pathetic sadistic fellow!
These comments are so stupid. You all rate the ENTIRE movie based on not knowing what happened to the baby?
Anyway the movie in general to me was pretty boring. It felt like it had potential but then took a really boring route and I felt I was forcing myself to finish it. It was also frustrating to see Ian pussy out when he had so many chances to really cause some damage and save his girlfriend. At least he came back with the police I guess.
Overall I probably wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone unless I know they were just as bored as me when I picked it.
You’re goddamn right I do. The denouement is one of the most important parts of the film, and this stupid fucking hack of a director and the stupid fucking hack of a writer pissed it away for “SHOCK” value and turned a 3/5 star movie into a flat-out fucking 0/5 star movie. I will be strongly recommending no one ever watch this piece of shit.
Okay I hate movies that end like that I just watched this movie yet again we have no idea what happened to the baby yeah in a perfect world we’d like to think that the baby is okay but it doesn’t tell us and it makes me so angry
But alas the movie itself was really good it kept me going till the very end I just wish they would have showed just a little little touch with the baby just like somebody’s walking up to him in the woods or something didn’t have to have like a whole Side Story what happened to the baby
Over all I suppose in my world.The dog saved the baby and showed the second reveal of the movie.The owners may have need sadistic evil but a dog is a dog? Other than that the daughter had a important part as well and leaving the particular holes gives power to the chance of the unknown I suppose.Made me flinch
Ian is weak, obviously. Love wasn’t strong enough for him to save his girl. I’m guessing it is expected for us to believe the baby was eventually found and rescued. I can also tell that Chook was kinda forced to kill that family..well the husband is who he killed. Germ made him do it, it is given with his reluctance that he probably did not wanna go much further than raps. He is still horrible regardless. That’s just something I noticed. Sam and Ians relationship, if it last, will more than likely never be the same. He basically left her to die. Just pitiful.
But there was a very grief moment where Chook had a decision to either kill the man or kill Germ. You see ever so briefly that he still has a tiny biit of humanity left, but once be murders the man, it’s all over.
Didn’t like ending, and baby was best actor in it, so baby deserves a closure. If I wrote the ending..I would make Sam kick Germ in nuts, and take off running with the baby, at same time make Ian take Villains gun and shoot Germ. Then I would created a exit scene how they got out of that place, report, and too hospital, with baby safe, purhaps showing Sam holding the baby in hospital. I would even be created enough to add a third Villain at end that would follow in 2. Sadly I am not the writer.
Hey, maybe they ended it like that on purpose do they could have s sequel. I was thinking maybe Sam could have ripped out her IV , taken a car and go back in the canyon to rescue Ollie and the dog. … was his name Bruno or something. Possibly she could forgive Ian .
The ending basically had no POV!
You know everyone is bashing Ian but can any of you honestly say you would jump right out there that alone would have cause the guy to actually shoot the girl or he to get shot then where would the girl be?. Also, another thing, when Ian was trying to slowly go for the gun he could see the guy was still alive and he was trying to stay out of his line of sight in case he had the strength to yell out.And way some asked why didn’t she go look for the baby. Maybe she tried but passed out I mean seriously that wasn’t her first car wreck of the night. And she probably thought that if her man didn’t get the baby then the dog did. Shoot the dog could have moved the baby and once he realized his owner was dead he went and sat with the baby. Plus, I’m sure when more help came they back tracked to the other body and then found the dog and baby.
Most of us felt deflated when the movie ends and Ollie’s fate is never addressed. Did the pit bull sit with him to fend off wild bores? But remember what Ollie’s Mom said about cognitive therapy and rewriting the ending of nightmares. I believe the writers deliberately ended the movie so the each viewer could complete the ending however we want. Unfortunately people pay money to be entertained with a movie that feels complete. I would like to believe the dog pulls to baby to the road, Sam forgives Ian for being a coward and they get married and adopt Ollie and the dog! Or is that too cheesy?
I think the dog would most likely have become quite hungry and eaten baby Oliver. They didn’t show it so as not to upset people.
Stupid fucking movie didnt even like it started stupid ended stupid all of its bullshit maybe if there was a second to this movie then maybe id reconsider but until then fucking stupid.
The writer brilliantly told us what would happen to the baby. The dogs constant barking throughout the movie. The dog took a protective stance with the baby. The police dispatcher kept trying to communicate, backup was surely dispatched. Many officials would be on the scene almost immediately. The ending is the dog barked until they found Ollie.
I couldnt take my eyes off this movie! Very upsetting about baby ollie inreli hope hes ok sam forgives ian yes i think theyvsould bring a srcind and adopt bany ollie x
The baby survives and gets raised by wolves and his best mate is a bear. But then a dancing ginger monkey befriends him for his Zippo lighter !!!
The amount of criticism for poor Ian. How does anyone know how they’re going to react unless they are in that situation? Not everyone can be a hero. And would everyone be attacking Sam if she had been the one to run off and get help?
If he would have taken the baby with him I would not bash him. I thought he should have grabbed the gun. But I don’t bash him for not doing it. But the fact that he ran right by a baby to go get help without just reaching down and picking him up seriously bothered me. If it didn’t bother you I assume you are not a parent. I would have been every bit as bothered (maybe more) if it were the girl that ran by the baby without picking him up to save him.
I assumed that the baby was rescued just like Ian and Sam were. We didn’t see Ian and Sam being rescued. But they ended up in the hospital so the baby probably did too. And I agree with above poster, the dog would’ve barked until rescuers located them.
Ok you’re all saying ian should have grabbed Germs gun… Didnt anyone realize that Chook took Germs gun? Thats why ian took germs keys! 😜
So what happened to the family in the other tent baby? She left him and never came back even though he eventually got out and started walking. Ollie was found way before that family got caught and killed.
Thats not…….DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE SAME MOVIE WE DID?
I HATE THIS MOVIE. Why did they leave the baby behind. For all we know the dog could’ve ate the poor baby. The baby suffered the most in this movie I don’t give a Damn about thecoward doctor and his girlfriend. I just wish Ollie was the one safe in a hospital and not those two idiots. The Doctor should’ve been the one left to be rated by the dog!!!!! Fuck this movie it left me angry and worried I wish I would’ve never seen it. I’m so angry!!!
I agree with the disappointment in Ian not taking advantage of opportunities yo save his lady and the baby. I don’t know if he was insecure in having no experience with shooting a gun or whatever. But leaving Ollie behind when he decided to go get help..smh. It ‘s ray to assume he was looking to save himself or the easy way out. As for the cliffhanger regarding the baby…bad move. They could have very easily included Sam finding the baby in hospital room…recovering. Or are they planning a sequel with the baby growing up in the woods being raised by the dog…and growing up to hate tourist…killing them off…like the original bad guys hmmmm
FURIOUS! I get it that the leaving the baby made the viewers think, but viewers always need good endings in movies like this! What happened to that little child, and also was the dog considered a HERO because he laid by the baby til it was saved! OMG, the movie was awesome, the ending was horrible.
* from their FB page* Ollie is fine and living with his grandparents. The dog was looking after him until Sam got back. Sam would have gone straight back, no doubts there.
I think the film is asking us to use our imagination in this film the baby could have been dogs dinner or the man could have taken him to the police station we can decide
Obviously the authorities will go to retrieve the bodies and see the baby being protected by the dog. Not sure how the dog makes it out but I think the baby would have been rescued when daylight came.