A new Ukrainian war film, Killhouse, has been described as 'Saving Private Ryan for the drone age'. The action thriller, released this week, is based on the true story of a civilian couple rescued from a battlefield by Ukrainian drone operators.
Director Liubomyr Levytskyi said he was inspired by a real-life rescue operation. A woman trying to save relatives under Russian attack followed a drone carrying a note that read 'Follow me', dodging mines and bullets. Her husband was thrown into a trench by Russian soldiers but survived. Levytskyi initially made a 30-minute documentary, Follow Me, before expanding it into a feature film.
The film includes cameos from figures such as former military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. It is set in 2024, when the US and Ukraine were allies. The plot takes artistic licence, adding a kidnapped 12-year-old girl, and features scenes in the White House situation room and occupied eastern Ukraine.
Filming in the Kyiv region was interrupted by air raid alerts. Actor Denis Kapustin, who later became a real drone operator with the 3rd Assault Brigade, described the film as 'totally meta and postmodern'. He noted that it captures the multi-level nature of modern warfare, including street-to-street fighting in towns like Vovchansk.
Ukraine's Security Service and Defence Intelligence provided military vehicles and a helicopter for production. The film uses footage from real combat drones, claimed as a first in cinema history. Made without state support on a $1.1m budget, an English-language version is being prepared for US distributors, and a four-episode version for streaming platforms is under consideration.
