Cruel Hands is a horror thriller film directed by Al Kalyk and starring Mavournee Hazel, Josh McConville, and Diesel La Torraca.
The film was an official selection of the Austin Film Festival, where it won the Dark Matters Best Narrative Feature prize. It was also an official selection of Beyond Fest Festival, Panic Fest, and the Cleveland International Film Festival, and is now set to be released in theaters and on digital platforms on July 24.
Set during Australia’s 2019 “Black Summer” bushfires, Cruel Hands follows Maria and her 12-year-old son Dai as they flee her violent husband and seek refuge in an abandoned farmhouse. As fires rage across the region and emergency services struggle to locate the missing family, Maria attempts to build a safe new life for her son while Jason relentlessly hunts them through the smoke-filled wilderness. Trapped between a deadly natural disaster and the man they are trying to escape, mother and son are pushed to their limits in a tense and emotional fight for survival with devastating consequences.
Featuring performances from Mavournee Hazel (‘Neighbours’, ‘Shantaram’), Josh McConville (‘The Invisible Man’, ‘Elvis’) and Diesel La Torraca (‘Ginny & Georgia’, ‘Lambs of God’). Cruel Hands delivers a story of survival under impossible circumstances. Additional cast includes Harry Greenwood (‘The Nightingale’, ‘Hacksaw Ridge’) and Geneviève Lemon (‘The Power of the Dog’, ‘Sweetie’).
With ‘Cruel Hands’, Croatian-Australian filmmaker Al Kalyk emerges as a new voice in genre cinema. Drawing on his experience as a writer, director, editor, and cinematographer, Kalyk brings a distinctive visual style and an instinct for building tension and suspense. Blending psychological thriller elements with a deeply human story of survival, Cruel Hands transforms the devastation of Australia’s Black Summer bushfires into a haunting backdrop for a tale of trauma, resilience, and transformation. The result is a striking debut that signals the arrival of an upcoming filmmaker.
Watch the official trailer for Cruel Hands.
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