Horror Movie Review: Killbillies (2015)

With a title like Killbillies you’d be expecting a tongue in cheek horror. A horror focused around a group of drunk, drugged & sexed up young adults falling victim to a load of hicks. Cue much over the top gore & silly death scenes all done with entertainment in mind.

What you may not have been expecting was the Ukrainian version of Wrong Turn with all the humour removed. What you wouldn’t have been expecting was a hillbilly slasher/torture flick that takes itself far too seriously.

So seriously that no matter the violence on screen all you’re going to do is yawn through boredom. It’s not helped by the fact that we’ve seen this exact same story told countless times! Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Deliverance & The Wrong Turn series which has 6 films based around this one bloody idea!

The movie begins by introducing Zina (Nina Ivanisin), an amateur model who is taking part in a photo shoot. Alongside Mia (Nika Rozman), Dragica (Manca Ogorevc) & photographer, Blitcz (Sebastian Cavazza) they head out to a picturesque meadow. There they get attacked by two deformed maniacs who kidnap the women & kill Blitcz.

The surviving women have no choice but to fight back. if they don’t they will end up being the secret ingredient in the hillbillies’ homemade alcohol!

Playing out in a completely predictable way. Killbillies is just not a movie worth getting excited about. It’s not a bad film, the acting is solid with the leader of the killer hicks (Lotos Sparovec) in particular standing out. It’s just a film that garners a ‘meh’ reaction.

The second half quickly devolves into a tired cat & mouse game. One that lacks any real tension as the hillbillies are free & easy when it comes to keeping their captives locked up. The surviving women never really feel in danger. When they are attacked it always seems to come from a side door or from around the corner.

Extremely low budget, credit can be given for how far those involved stretched the money. The film is polished with some decent effects. The gore & death scenes are realistic looking with a particular head-slamming being quite visceral. It’s not enough to hold your interest though.

Totally lacking any kind of originality, it’s not one worth bothering with.