The underrated revenge thriller film Landmine Goes Click offers a challenging viewing experience, and its ending actually deconstructed its own genre. Released independently in 2015, the film follows three American tourists in the country of Georgia who find their picturesque getaway interrupted when one of them steps on a landmine. Shifting gears almost constantly, Landmine Goes Click quickly elevated itself above its original high-concept horror idea, and incorporated the revenge genre for even more effective scares. More importantly than all that, Landmine Goes Click explored deeper themes which allowed the movie to deconstruct the popular horror subgenre and analyze it through a modern lens.
Reminiscent of the grindhouse B-movies of the 1970s, which often used gruesome imagery and shocking plots to get their point across, Landmine Goes Click pulled no punches in its storytelling. As such, the reviews were evenly split between those who appreciated the movie's bluntness and those who were completely turned off by it. Much in the same way that the revenge genre has seen evolutions over the decades, Landmine Goes Click attempted to spur evolution in the anti-revenge movie genre and largely succeeded. While the ending of Landmine Goes Click was just as shocking as the rest of the film, it fulfilled the story's overarching themes.
Did Alicia Survive?
Despite being overtly gratuitous with what it showed on-screen throughout most of the film, certain details of Landmine Goes Click were left to the imagination or tucked away in the dialogue. Having been victimized by Ilya (Kote Tolordava) and presumably killed by his blade, the final fate of Alicia (Spencer Locke) was not explicitly shown. It was only during his final acts of revenge that Chris (Sterling Knight) revealed that she had succumbed to her wounds and died while he attempted to drag them both to safety. Obviously haunted by his experience, Alicia's death transformed Chris entirely.
Hearing about her death from Chris, the man who loved her, made his revenge all the more personal and added another wrinkle to Ilya's brutal actions. Ilya had obviously not given a second thought to the American tourists after he left them in the ditch, and it was his own arrogance that eventually came back to haunt him. Alicia's death somehow paled in comparison to the other things she suffered at the hands of Ilya, and the ending of Landmine Goes Click mirrored many of the other great revenge films in that it is about revenge on behalf of someone else.
What Happened To Daniel?
Landmine Goes Click made a hard left turn when it was revealed that the supposed accidental encounter with the landmine was actually an elaborate setup by Daniel (Dean Geyer) to punish Alicia and Chris for their affair. Daniel eventually left the scene, presumably to let the duo suffer, but the movie never revealed exactly what happened to him. Considering his nonchalant attitude with Devi (Giorgi Tsaava), he most likely planned to return to have the last laugh on his unsuspecting victims, but he never anticipated the arrival of Ilya. Daniel served his purpose as the inciting incident for the story, but he was much more important than that.
The ending of Landmine Goes Click was the culmination of the ultimate revenge, but there were myriad examples of smaller revenge throughout. Though he was far from a good guy, Daniel was somewhat exonerated by the fact that the landmine was a fake from the start, and though emotional torture is still wrong, he had no intention of physically harming anyone. Like many of the best indie horror movies of the '70s, Landmine Goes Click's obvious inspiration, the film used its limited resources to scare most effectively. Daniel didn't need to turn back up because he illustrated how a small act of revenge could balloon into absolute chaos.
Ilya Knew The Landmine Was Fake
One of the most brilliant aspects of writer-director Levan Bakhia's vision for Landmine Goes Click is the subtle way the story twists the knife and makes even the darkest plot points all the more harrowing with one small detail. After building excruciating tension all throughout Ilya's "game" with Alicia and Chris, the scene is punctuated with the revelation that Ilya knew the landmine was fake the entire time. While it is one thing to portray the villainous character of Ilya as a brutal opportunist, it makes him even more vile when it is revealed that he allowed them both to suffer for no reason other than his own amusement.
The Meaning Of Landmine Goes Click’s Final Shot
The ending of Landmine Goes Click was just as blunt as the rest of the story, but director Bakhia utilized a clever visual to punctuate the sweeping ideas of the movie. While torturing Ilya and his family with a violent game of chance involving his silenced pistol, Chris finally crossed the line and shot Ilya's young daughter Lika (Elene Bezarashvili). Seeing the outcome of his search for vengeance, Chris broke down emotionally and crumbled as Ilya's family poured out their grief in front of him. Far from pleased, it was clear that Chris had crossed his own threshold and was paying the price.
While the image of a teary-eyed Chris surveying the result of his revenge was a striking and meaningful way to close out the movie, it then cut to the discarded fake landmine for one last look before the credits rolled. Besides tying things up as an effective bookend, the shot also reminded viewers how Daniel's misguided search for revenge had eventually escalated to the worst possible outcome. Chris' hate was like a bomb within him, and in the end, it resulted in the explosion that the fake landmine never provided.
The Real Meaning of Landmine Goes Click’s Ending
The flexibility of the horror genre has resulted in subgenres like revenge, which have subgenres within themselves such as the cathartic movies about revenge-seeking badass women. However, the ending of Landmine Goes Click went far beyond a simple subversion of its genre's expectations, and deconstructed it in a meaningful way. While most revenge movies touch on the idea that revenge is ultimately misguided, Landmine Goes Click showed how vengeance grew into a monster within the hearts of those who suffered pain. A landmine was the perfect visual metaphor for anger, and how one poor decision could eventually lead to destruction.