Today’s review is for brilliantly named Killbillies, the first horror film to come out of the beautiful and picturesque Slovenia. Killbillies definitely is a stunning looking film that capitalises on the mesmerising woods and scenic mountains. It is a horror film that mishmashes a few different films and genres, with Wrong Turn being the biggest film that springs to mind. It also has some hints of torture porn, that some may or may not like. What’s interesting about the film is the extended chase scene that occurs in the latter half, taking you through some gorgeous landscape. The film, however, fails a bit in the pacing department and really hits a roadblock with the disappointing ending.
PLOT SUMMARY
Proving that the American South does not hold a monopoly on sexually depraved, bloodthirsty hillbillies, Killbilllies (aka: Idyll,Idila) depicts a harrowing tale of abduction, violence and hoped-for survival, in Slovenia’s first ever horror movie. A group of fashionistas from the city, including models Zina and Mia, make-up artist Dragica and photographer Blitcz, begin to shoot on an idyllic countryside hilltop. But soon, two physically deformed psychopathic countrymen approach them and quickly attack. After the terrified group finds themselves chained in a basement and awaiting their gruesome fate, they decide they must fight no matter what the odds. A wild, bloody, taut clash ensues between urban and rural, women and men, between savages and civilized man. A fresh, sadistic take on such classics as The Hills Have Eyes and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
MOVIE REVIEW
Nine (Nina Ivanisin) is a model who is being pushed out of the modelling scene and is being replaced by a younger version. She has one more gig that she is willing to do with the rugged Blitcz (Sebastian Cavazza) in the hills of Slovenia. Nina, Blitcz and the younger model head up to some beautiful meadows and prepare to start shooting some photos. Unfortunately, a couple of strange looking hillbillies happen along to ruin the photo shoot.
They end up taking the four of them down to their dungeon for means I won’t spoil. It’s eventually up to Nina, who we know can be a tough, resilient woman, to grab the hillbilly by the horns and get everyone out of alive.
The good stuff that I’ve mentioned about the movie already, is, of course, the scenery. However, the film also has some truly wonderful special effects. The main two hillbillies appearances are a sight to behold. The lead one has some pustules on his face and the skinny one is, well damn weird looking. There are also some pretty pleasing kill scenes in the film, which will please gorehounds.
That’s the good stuff. The bad comes into play with pacing problems. The flick starts off super quick, however, things die down. We have one scene where two girls are trying to escape and instead of being intense like it should be, it just goes on and on. I nearly fell asleep at that point. The aforementioned extended chase is pretty cool, but there are moments where the tension flies out the window, as we see the girl limp along and killer slowly walking in the background. I do, however, have to applaud the makers for placing this entire scene during the day and still managing to elicit some scary moments. The main issue that I have with Killbillies is with the ending of the film. It was predictable and disappointing and might leave some viewers with a sour taste in their mouth.
VERDICT
Overall, though, I found Killbillies to be quite a surprise. It looked like it would be a cheesy movie, but it turned out to be the opposite. There may be some dark humour here and there with the murders, but for the most part, it’s a serious, well-shot film. The DVD is being released by Artsploitation Films and I think it’s worth a pickup.