Killing Ground

Once the novelty of the film's non-linear plot wears off, Killing Ground is mercilessly rote.

These personality-free characters fade from your mind even as you're watching the screen, making the brutality waged against them akin to animated mutilation of cartoon creatures.

Continuing the tradition of brutal Australian horror films like "Wolf Creek," "Killing Ground" is an effective indie creeper that unnerves the audience with its all-too-realistic violence.

Your potential enjoyment of-or repulsion for-Killing Ground comes down to what you want to experience in a horror movie.

Even Eli Roth would turn away from what happens to some of the characters in this film, but it's the case of a delayed, unsatisfying payoff.

Killing Ground makes a genuine and wholehearted effort to be something different, and to a certain extent succeeds, but with the rest of it being too much of more of the same it doesn't stand out quite as much as it hopes to.

It works one's nerves over with skill, jumbling up its story's chronology in disorienting ways, and delivering a survivalist saga whose unnerving impact stems in large part from its refusal to shy away from the suddenness -- and ugliness -- of violence.

One thing Power mostly gets right is that he spends enough time with both the predators and their victims, separately, so that you start to care for the latter even if you don't fully understand the motivations of the former.

Mean as a snake storytelling hides Killing Ground's small but nagging flaws.

Familiarity isn't a stumbling block for Power. He has a good eye for breathtaking shots in the most literal way possible, blocking scenes to maximize their chance of snatching the air right out of your lungs.

It's vile stuff, and "Killing Ground" would much more compelling if there was a scene contained within it that wasn't featured in dozens of similar endeavors.