Hallowed Ground – Review

Directed by: Miles Doleac

Runtime: 117 minutes

When asked to review Hallowed Ground, I came in with no expectations. The fact that it was a horror film, instantly meant I wanted to review it. As a lover of top-tier and low-tier horror, I will admit I was expecting your classic B-grade slasher. Can you blame me though? This is a film directed by Miles Doleac, penned Miles Doleac, starring Miles Doleac, and co-produced by Miles Doleac. If my experiences with Tommy Wiseau’s The Room or Neil Breen’s Fateful Findings have taught me anything, it’s that unless you are Clint Eastwood, don’t attempt this.

What I was presented with, however, was a film with two strong female leads, well fleshed-out characters and a script that was less focused on slashing and more focused on drama.

I admit, the very fact that this horror film revolves around an ancient Indian burial ground means that it is riddled with cliché. However what saves the film is the complicated relationship between the two female leads. Sherri Eakin and Lindsay Anne Williams play Vera and Alice, a married couple who decide to take a vacation to a secluded cabin in the woods in an attempt to repair their broken relationship. Though warned by the cabin’s proprietor not to cross the property boundary line, the two don’t heed the advice and become stuck in the middle of a century old feud with a neighbouring white supremacist clan out for blood.

Eakin and Williams shine in their roles as Vera and Alice. It was nice for me to see a lesbian couple so well characterised in a horror film and discussing real marital problems. Throughout the film Vera, who is a lesbian, finds it hard to forgive her bisexual wife Alice, who cheated on her with a man when she was studying. Both try to work through these issues on screen and it is so refreshing to hear. Historically horror films have not been the best at depicting female relationships—often times over-sexualising lesbian women to the extreme. Though there was nudity in this film, it didn’t seem cheap and gimmicky—which, let’s face it, it often is in horror films.

While Eakin and Williams did a great job, they were let down by a few supporting characters. Mindy Van Kuren who played Nita, the mysterious owner of the cabin, was wooden and jolted with her dialogue—reminding you of the film’s limited budget. Miles Doelac himself was perfect as the villainous Bill Barham, but unfortunately his character’s shine soon wears off after we are subjected again and again to a number of bible-belting cult speeches as he begins hunting down the girls and their companions.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by Hallowed Ground. The cinematography was excellent and, as I have mentioned, the strong female leads were superb. But despite the fact that this film surprised me in a good way, I did lament at its unfulfilled potential.

The film runs for a whopping two hours. By today’s standard, that may not seem long, but it was far too long for this film. Too much time was given to Bill Barham’s sprucing of deliverance-style sentiments—we get it, you are a bunch of hillbilly white people. Too much time was also wasted at the start with an awful flashback scene that was explained later in the film. This is Miles Doelac’s fourth full-length feature, so I am hoping he can learn from the editing errors of this film; he is definitely a newcomer director to watch out for in the horror/thriller genre.