Landmine Goes Click is a 2015 English-language Georgian thrillerexploitation film co-written & directed by Levan Bakhia.[1] It stars Sterling Knight and Spencer Locke as Chris and Alicia, American tourists trapped by a landmine in the Georgian countryside; and Kote Tolordava as Ilya, a local who stumbles upon and terrorizes the two.
The film premiered on March 3, 2015, at Fantasporto[2], and was released on VOD platforms on November 10.[3] Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its premise but were divided on its themes, depictions of violence against women, and overall execution. Further criticism was aimed toward its pacing and runtime. However, the film received highly positive reviews from audiences.
Plot
Fiancés Daniel and Alicia, as well as close friend Chris, explore rural Georgia. Privately, a guilt-ridden Chris tells Alicia that he wants to confess to Daniel about an affair the two had but Alicia firmly rejects it. The following morning, Chris confronts Devi, who is rummaging through their items. Alicia tells Chris that Devi is a former colleague. While Devi is taking photos of the trio, Chris steps on a land mine. Left unable to move under the threat of the mine exploding, Devi offers to go get help several hours away.
After leaving, Devi climbs on a rock and watches the group with binoculars. Alicia and Daniel go to the top of a hill to find reception. Daniel seemingly calls emergency services before suddenly calling Alicia a whore. The two return to Chris who admits that he informed Daniel of the affair. Daniel tells Alicia that he never made a phone call and that it is impossible to get reception in the area. He then returns to Devi, and although the two initially planned to return later to help, they simply leave. Alicia chooses to stay behind and help Chris.
After several hours, a hunter named Ilya and his dog find the stranded pair. After inquiring about how they got into the situation, Alicia tells Ilya about Daniel and the affair. An amused Ilya calls Alicia a whore and threatens to leave after being berated. Ilya demands Alicia for her underwear and she obliges. Ilya continuously forces Alicia to humiliate herself to obtain his radio and ask for help. Ilya demands Alicia to undress for him to call for help, as his partner doesn't speak English.
Ilya forces Alicia to remove her shirt but refuses to continue. Ilya points his shotgun at Chris but chases Alicia as she runs off. Noticing that Ilya dropped his weapon, Chris retrieves it. Ilya returns with Alicia in a chokehold with a knife in his hand. Unable to shoot, Chris is forced to watch as Ilya takes Alicia to a rock and rapes her. Alicia takes Ilya's knife but Ilya's dog attacks Chris, pushing him off the land mine and into the hole, which knocks him out. Chris wakes up to Alicia's corpse next to him as Ilya tells him that the land mine is fake, as they blow up as soon as someone steps on it. Ilya walks away and Chris holds Alicia's body, crying.
An unspecified amount of time later, Tanya and her teenage daughter Lika are stumbled upon by Chris at their home. Chris tells them that he got lost, and the two invite him inside. It is revealed that the home belongs to Ilya and that Tanya and Lika are his wife and daughter. Upon seeing Chris, Ilya insists that he leave. After leaving, Chris returns with the body of Ilya's dog, claiming that he hit him on accident.
An enraged Ilya takes his shotgun and threatens Chris. Chris, who had already stolen its ammunition, shoots Ilya in both of his legs with a suppressedrevolver and forces the family inside. Chris torments Lika, forcing her to do acts similar to what Alicia did as Ilya and Tanya watch. Chris begins to play Russian roulette with Lika and forces her to strip. As Lika undresses, Chris shoots her, killing her instantly. A lamenting Chris stares blankly as Ilya and Tanya sob loudly.
Landmine Goes Click received mixed reviews from critics upon release. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 50% approval rating out of 6 critic reviews. Audience response to the movie was far more positive, garnering a 91% audience score.[4] Website Metacritic, which assigns normalized ratings to media, gave the film a score of 35, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". However, the film received a user score of 8.3 out of 10 indicating "universal acclaim".[5]
CineVue writer Martyn Conterio gave the film 4/5 stars, claiming that Bakhia's "intentions can be misinterpreted. The brutalization of three female characters is horrific, but it would be a presumptuous leap to suggest the film itself flexes a misogynistic creed."[6]. Anton Bitel of the British Film Institute gave a positive review, praising the overall theme and tension of the movie.[7] A retroactive review by Bloody Disgusting writer Paul Lê criticized Tolordava's performance for being "overdone", but praised the film for its "unapologetic style and execution of classic exploitation filmmaking" and referred to it as "a step in the right direction."[8]
In a Los Angeles Times review by Katie Walsh, she praised the film's premise but criticized the execution as a "hateful, arduous drag".[9] Frank Sheck from The Hollywood Reporter gave high praise to the performances of Knight, Locke, and Tolordava, but criticized the pacing, writing that the film "suffers from far too leisurely storytelling. Director Bakhia favors long takes and generously allows for improvisation by the performers, with the result that every scene goes on much longer than necessary."[10] Dennis Harvey in Variety said that the film's premise "might have made for a forceful 20-minute short" but that it "doesn’t profit from being stretched to five times that length".[11]
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