‘They don’t forgive their trespassers’
Hallowed Ground is a 2019 American horror film written, co-produced, directed and starring Miles Doleac (director of Demons (2017) and an actor in Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies; Mississippi River Sharks; Don’t Kill It).
The Historia Films production also stars Sherri Eakin, Ritchie Montgomery and Lindsay Anne Williams.
Plot:
A married couple, trying to rebuild their relationship after an affair, travels to a secluded cabin and stumbles into a blood feud between the Native American owners of the property and the neighbouring clan, who obsessively guard their land and punish those who trespass on it in terrifying ways…
Reviews:
” …underdeveloped ideas fill the plot with holes and the viewer with frustration. It could have benefitted from a faster and more focused development, as well as more risks in the explicit scenes, and I think it could have ended up as a more interesting product.” 10th Circle
” …Hallowed Ground is a film that starts out with some promising ideas that could well have taken us into fresh territory with some good scary stuff along the way but, sadly, doesn’t ever deliver on that initial promise.” Fake Shemp
“The only drawback to the film was the cultish neighbors, I felt that their backstory was a bit underdeveloped and one dimensional – not to mention, they looked like they belonged in a summer theatre production of The Devil’s Rain […] This is a realistic horror film for the any of the LGBTQ+ crowd and anyone who digs this type of horror.” The Far Sighted
“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…” Film Bunker
“Every time something extreme happens like in Hallowed Ground though, it feels unneeded and ultimately hinders the final product. Take away the extreme elements and focus a bit more on the strange cult-like story, and this could’ve easily been something fresh. Films like Hallowed Ground are a dime a dozen.” Flickering Myth
“There are parts where I was pulled out of it a bit, but the story is still engrossing. We find the typical archetype of the backwards hick in Bill Barham; he’s cold, traditional, and he’s much more morally backwards than the film’s protagonists. However, he isn’t traditional in the religious sense, which was an interesting aspect of the character that brought another layer to the conflict between Vera and Alice as well as Nita’s family.” Ghastly Grinning
“Sadly, Doleac’s script drowns in exposition in the first half and offers a barrage of poorly defined male characters: the photographer guy shows up just to provide an extraneous threat; a stereotype local Sheriff happily picks on “degenerates” and the cultists at the story’s centre are so broadly played any potential suspense is diluted. The ritual-based climax goes on and on…” Horror Screams Video Vault
“Hallowed Ground sports proper acting and the actors effectively sell their characters, especially Ritchie Montgomery, who plays Sandy, the groundsman. The viewer is drawn into the moral battle between the two neighboring groups and genuinely feel for the characters.” The Movie Sleuth
” …locations are great with fine camera work and overall decent acting. I have said time and time again; horror is hard enough to pull off but horror mixed with drama is even harder and Hallowed Ground is a novel attempt at tackling subjects oft-ignored in the horror community, but it sadly misses the mark.” The Movie Waffler
“Intense and unhinged, Hallowed Ground ticks all the boxes. A good horror movie that does something different while at the same time harkening back to days where horror films relied as much on the dark gloom of discomfort as they did on the cutting and slicing.” Nerdly
“Hallowed Ground starts strong with queer representation, falters with its use of Native American iconography, stumbles with an overlong story, but recovers with strong performances from its female leads. It is refreshing to see a lesbian couple at the center of a horror film that isn’t just used to cater to male sexual desire.” Nightmare on Film Street
“Hallowed Ground is a bit too long for its B-movie tale of murder and massacre. Sure, once the killing gets going, it definitely delivers the demented goods. But all the flashbacks add up to little more than dramatic tease as the affair is disclosed and then told again and again.” Reel Reviews
“Sure, it takes a bit to kick into gear, but you (like me) might actually enjoy the slow burn build-up and the fact that we get fleshed out characters in return – and once the film kicks into gear it goes full-throttle: It’s violent, it’s mean, it’s creepy, and it’s “take no prisoners” approach to things is commendable – and yet it manages to tell a proper story with twists and surprises throughout.” Search My Trash
“Hallowed Ground has several social messages to convey. It does so quite clumsily, and it isn’t subtle […] The film sometimes redeems itself by its visual quality and its production value, but the strong social justice agenda is a serious deal-breaker.” Tales of Terror
“Writer/director Miles Doleac has put together two well-developed characters for audiences to take journey with. The narrative really centers itself on the two protagonists before diving into the satirical horror. Doleac dives into the suspense as the blood feud between the neighboring fractions escalate into a gripping conclusion.” Villain Media
Release:
Hallowed Ground was released by Uncork’d Entertainment in select theaters on June 7, 2019, and on VOD and DVD on June 11, 2019.
Cast and characters:
Miles Doleac … Bill Barham
Ritchie Montgomery … Sandy
Sherri Eakin … Vera
Lindsay Anne Williams … Alice
Jeremy Sande … Thatcher Vance
Cotton Yancey … Winslow
Creek Wilson … Minco
Michael Randall … Curtwell Barham
Dan Forest … Nashoba
Wesley O’Mary … Fox King
Ella Claire Bennett … Barham Girl
Joseph VanZandt … Jerry
Mindy Van Kuren … Nita
Michael J. Bradford … Cultist
Dan Ellzey … Mayor Hollis
Technical details:
1 hour 57 minutes (!)
Notes:
Not to be confused with Hallowed Ground (2007), written and directed by David Benullo.
Trailer:
