10 More Perfect Horror Movies You've Never Heard Of

Eschewing tradition, convention and tropes, Australian kidnap feature Hounds of Love turns what could have been a paint-by-numbers piece of torture porn into a tense and terrifying psycho-drama that uses its grimmest elements to develop its characters rather than titillate viewers.

Loosely based upon a series of real crimes committed by Aussie couple David and Catherine Birnie, and somewhat curiously named after the 1985 Kate Bush album, the film sees teenager Vicki (Ashleigh Cummings) abducted from the suburban streets after a blazing argument with her mum. Chained to a bed and forced into a nightmare of violence, rape and domination by nutty bogan duo John (Stephen Curry) and Evelyn (Emma Booth), Vicki uses every tool she has to try and survive the ordeal and turn her murderous captors against each other.

Unlike your run-of-the-mill kidnap horror flick, most of the truly horrific things happen off-camera in Hounds of Love, but somehow this often only makes them worse. The direction is eerie, the characters creepy, the soundtrack equal parts intense and haunting, making the most of synthesisers and drones; and yet, although it did apparently get an international release, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who's seen it.