Review by Annabelle Lecter



Killbillies (Idila) is a Slovenian horror film about, well - killer hillbillies. It turns out that the United States is not the only place that has a cultural rift between country and urban that's played on in their entertainment. Yet, there is an interesting moral dynamic that can be found here. In the end I was not sure who I sided with, the pissed off country folk who were tired of outsiders disrespecting their private land or the supposed protagonists who were just going about their regular lives in ignorance not intentional offense.

But I want to be clear - this is not an amazingly intellectual film, and there are a couple of gore scenes that are downright silly. It's a little difficult to put my finger on what to say about it overall because there are hits and misses throughout. To its credit, the casting is great (including a small part of an old woman who laughs like a crow which goes on too long but damn is she good at it), the lighting and camerawork looks super, and the characters are fairly believable. The basic plot is nothing new, but there is an interesting twist to the tale I enjoyed which circles back around to the nihilistic end scene. There is some depth in the character relationships which brings it past a typical slasher. Although it is nothing particularly groundbreaking, it was an alright movie and I wouldn't recommend against it. If you like hillbilly horror there's not a ton of them to look at (really just two mutated bastards for the bulk of the film), and they don't do anything super original aside from the one plot twist, but what the hell, give it a watch.

Killbillies (Idyll)
Distributed through Artsploitation Films
Released: October 25, 2016
DVD SRP: $17.99
UPC: 851597006360
Director: Tomaž Gorkič
Starring: Nina Ivanišin, Lotos Vincenc Šparovec, Jurij Drevenšek, Nika Rozman, Sebastian Cavazza
Country: Slovenia
Language: Slovenian with English subtitles
Year: 2015
Run time: 83 Minutes
Sound: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Synopsis: 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.