When their dog falls violently ill after wandering into the cane fields, a rural couple’s ordinary night descends into terror. With no help for miles and strange reports of a spreading sickness on the radio, Dale and Susan try to contain the infection, but some things can’t be buried. The Hand that Feeds delivers classic horror in a modern Australian setting: a slow-burn nightmare where loyalty turns lethal, and love becomes the most dangerous contagion of all.
LOGLINE
SYNOPSIS
In the lonely sprawl of the cane fields, love curdles into horror when something buried comes crawling home.
The film is rooted in the textures and sounds of rural Australia: the hum of cicadas, the crunch of dry dirt, the isolation of the sugarcane fields. Horror in this setting isn’t about monsters from elsewhere; it’s about what rises from the land itself.
By grounding the supernatural in rural realism, The Hand that Feeds blurs the line between infection and emotion. It’s both an outbreak story and a love story gone wrong, a quiet tragedy where the world ends, not with an explosion, but with a whimper in the dark.
Dale (50s): A hardened, practical farmer. His stoicism masks deep affection for Susan and Coop. As the infection spreads, his rationality becomes desperation.
Susan (50s): Warm, nurturing, quietly lonely. Her empathy for Coop becomes the catalyst for her undoing.
Coop (Dog): The couple’s working cattle dog. His transformation from companion to abomination embodies the film’s core horror: the corruption of love.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
KEY CHARACTERS
Grief as Disease: The infection mirrors emotional rot.
Isolation: Physical and psychological entrapment in the Australian bush.
Faith and Folklore: Echoes of “evil in the land” - rural superstition meets biological horror.
Love and Violence: Dale’s compassion becomes his downfall; love becomes lethal.
THEMES
TARGET AUDIENCE
Production & Budget Overview
Fans of The Babadook, The Nightingale, The Witch, The Thing
Viewers drawn to Australian Gothic, psychological horror, and slow-burn supernatural realism.
Festival audiences (Sundance Midnight, SXSW, MIFF, Sitges, Fantastic Fest, Sydney Underground).
Category Description
Estimated Budget: AUD $40,000 – $80,000 (short film)
Shooting Days: 5–6 days
Location: North Queensland (Ayr / Proserpine / Kingaroy area)
Format: Digital, 2.39:1 aspect ratio
Crew Size: 15–20
Funding Sources: Screen Queensland short film grant, crowdfunding, private investors
Estimated Budget: AUD $20,000 – $40,000 (short film)
Shooting Days: 5–6 days
Location: North Queensland (Ayr / Proserpine / Kingaroy area)
Format: Digital, 2.39:1 aspect ratio
Running Time ~ 20 - 30 minutes
Crew Size: 15–20
Funding Sources: Screen Queensland short film grant, crowdfunding, private investors
Production & Budget Overview