I am not a parent, but I imagine that Hounds of Love is the epitome of a mother’s (and father’s) worst nightmare. It’s almost a relief knowing I’ll never encounter this unimaginable devastation – finding out your child has disappeared.

Let me set up the “based on true events” scenario: It’s 1987 in Perth, Australia and your rebellious teen daughter sneaks out of the house one night en route to a party – then vanishes. Panic and helplessness set in as there are no clues or evidence as to her whereabouts. No leads, DNA testing hadn’t been introduced in the 80’s, and not one witness comes forward claiming they saw her. Where could she be?

Hounds of Love yanks you into trauma so abruptly, you’ll wish this was a cautionary tale of fiction and not the 9th circle of hell. Unfortunately, you will feel every agonizing inch of pain (both physical and emotional) of being kept captive, abused, raped, tortured, lost and in constant fear alongside the abducted victim. Without relying on any graphic violence, Director Ben Young still plants the horrifying seed of uncertainty that pretty, young Vicki encounters over a substantial period of time. And it’s relentless.

This is the world of Eve and John White…your typical thirty-something couple. Wild, in love and happy. Oh…and they enjoy kidnapping, torturing and killing teenage girls. That seems to be their favorite sidebar hobby. Who doesn’t need to unwind once in a while, right?

While out on the prowl one night they immediately target gussied-up Vicki. With promises of weed and alcohol, Vicki obliges sans major hesitation and accepts the offer to accompany the couple to their home for a quick pit stop before continuing onto the scheduled plan – meeting her pals at a forbidden party. Little does she know, the unthinkable events to follow are scarier than a parent scolding a child for sneaking out of the house to hang out with a bunch of friends.

Vicki’s life is about to be controlled through insufferable terror.

Shackled to a bed screaming, sexually depraved Eve and husband John begin to use her as their private play toy. But, there is something different about this “new” sex slave. Eve experiences pangs of jealousy when John takes opportunities to be alone with Vicki. Not forgoing her attempts to please her husband, Eve completes every dutiful daily task, worshipping John and taking care to bathe and feed their prisoner. Eve’s internal demons begin to surface as she pleads with John to kill off the girl as they’ve so willingly done in the past. Sensing the Achilles heel in their warped relationship, Vicki devises her plan to drive a wedge between the insane couple, in order to survive and hopefully…escape.

It is profound, explicit and categorically shattering. Ben Young has set up Hounds of Love to not only tell the tale of one girl’s strength and courage but manages to induce his viewers to stay by her side throughout the terrifying despair, with wishes of her safe release. You’ll want to hug Vicki almost as much as her mother does.