HALLOWED GROUND: There Is A Good Film In Here Somewhere

Let me begin by saying, I went in this ready to love it. I knew very little, but it sounded like it would be right up my alley. A couple rent a nice cottage in the middle of the woods and get involved in a territorial war between neighbours/cultists. I mean, that has heaps of potential right there, up for grabs.

I’m sad to say, it is utterly and completely wasted and Hallowed Ground might be one of the worst films I’ve seen in 2019.

Old-School Horror Vibes

So we begin with a lovely couple, Alice and Vera who are going through a rough time in their relationship after Alice cheated on Vera with a man. And not just any man, but an incredibly sleazy photographer/overall douchebag Thatcher. They travel to a secluded cabin in attempt to fix what’s broken between them. They’re shown around by the owner Nita, who tells the women the cabin has been in her family for centuries and warns them not to trespass on the neighbouring territory, which is clearly marked by barbed wire. The women accidentally trip over each other and barely touch the ground behind the barbed wire but this is enough to start a war. Turns out the neighbours aren’t just any old creeps, but an old cult demanding human sacrifice. And I thought my neighbours sucked.

There is a lot of good in Hallowed Ground. The film begins with a fantastically bonkers scene which is bold, if very clumsy. But you got to give it to director Miles Doleac for just going with it anyway. It’s all a bit on the nose; either hilariously self-aware or possibly just bad due to the lack of experience helming a feature film. Doleac has directed several short films, but only a few features. It’s much easier to helm a short film where story often becomes second to mood and tone.

Hallowed Ground has a beautiful, gorgeous poster and the title card in the film has the same old school horror vibe. Very Ti West, sort of vintage horror, it’s all looking promising at this point. Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from here.

The script reads like it was written by a first-year film student. Hallowed Ground is a hefty film with a nearly two-hour runtime, but all the dialogue is so heavy with clumsy exposition and doesn’t sit in the actresses’ mouth. Lines sound phoney and it isn’t helped with the heavy-handed camerawork. The term ‘elevated horror’ is thrown around way too much, but something about the pacing and tone of the film tells me that’s what they were going for. Much like Hereditary, Hallowed Ground wants to be a dialogue-heavy, creepy drama which then transforms into a full-blown horror. However, Miles Doleac just doesn’t have the ear for great, layered dialogue.

Points For Queer Representation, But Not Much Else

Queer representation in films, especially in horror films, is a problem which needs fixing and Hallowed Ground definitely helps by having a married female couple in the centre of it. There is some genuinely great stuff in there; Alice struggles finding acceptance for the bisexuality and Vera talks about her growing up gay in the South. The focus is on them as a couple, but they’re never punished for their queerness, which is refreshing and certainly a step forward.

But as much as I want to applaud the film for its inclusivity, it’s all drowned out by the bad acting and overall terrible filmmaking. Doleac appears as a cult leader in the film and I’m fairly confident he says he has a dragon inside him nearly 30 times. We get it, he believes a dragon lives in him, why does he keep repeating it unnecessarily? The script could have used some help, some reflecting because there genuinely is a good film in there somewhere.

The actors do what they can with the source material. Lindsay Anne Williams and Sherri Eakin try to lift the material, but the film’s editing isn’t helping them and it all plays out like a student film. Jeremy Sande as the revolting, Monster-chugging sleaze-bag Thatcher however seems to be in on some sort of inside joke and has an absolute blast with his role, chewing through the scenery like there’s no tomorrow.

When we finally get to the third act, filled with carnage, the film does change gears. There’s a fair bit of gore and the film manages to capture that old school vintage horror vibe again. Things get a bit supernatural, which doesn’t even hurt the film at this point because anything is better than the 75 minutes that lead to this. The finale is thrilling and bloody, exactly what you expect and more importantly, want from a film like this.

Hallowed Ground: Sacred Or Cursed By Blood?

Hallowed Ground is a massive disappointment. One can’t quite figure out whether it genuinely is going for that campy B-movie vibe, but even that wouldn’t excuse the terrible writing. It gets major points for featuring a lesbian couple without ever punishing the characters for their sexuality, but the film as a whole just doesn’t work as a whole. However, the film will work as an excellent drinking game for those of the correct drinking age. Just take a sip every time the cult leader mentions the dragon. (Drink Responsibly!)

Have you seen Hallowed Ground? What did you think? Which horror films nail queer representation? Share your favourites in the comments!

Hallowed Ground was released in US theaters on June 7, 2019 and was released digitally on June 11, 2019.