Directed By: Sean Byrne.
Written By: Sean Byrne
Starring: Xavier Samuel (Brent), Robin McLeavy (Lola), Victoria Thaine (Holly), Jessica McNamee (Mia), Richard Wilson (Sac), John Brumpton (Eric).
Note: I saw this movie two years ago at TIFF,
where it won the People’s Choice Award for the Midnight Madness section. I
assume that the version being released is the same that I saw at the Festival,
but it is a very violent, disturbing film, so I do not know if any cuts were
made.
I see so many
horror films, that I often fear that I have become too jaded to the violence
and scare tactics used even by the best of them. I can count the number of
movies this decade on one hand that offered a sustained, horrific intensity
that was truly frightening from beginning to end. Well, to that very exclusive
list, you can add The Loved Ones, a brilliant new horror film from Australia
The film opens
innocently enough with a teenage kid Brent (Xavier Samuel) driving along with
his dad in the seat next to him. Then a bloody, naked man comes out into the
middle of the seemingly deserted road, and Brent has to swerve to avoid hitting
him, wrapping the car around a tree and killing his dad in the process. The
movie then picks up again eight months later, with Brent still raked with
guilt. He medicates himself with pot, and punishes himself by cutting himself
with a razor. His mother has become paranoid that he’ll die. The only bright
spot in his life is his ever loyal girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine), who has
stuck by him, no matter what. Today is the day of the big end of school dance, and
the two are planning on going. But Lola (Robin McLeavy), a pretty wallflower
has other ideas. When Brent rejects her advances, she has her “daddy” bring
Brent to their secluded place, where she puts on a horrific little dance of her
own. To say any more about the film would be to spoil the fun – and
writer/director Sean Byrne has some truly demented, original tricks up his
sleeve.
The Loved Ones
puts most American horror films to shame. Most of the modern horror films are
either flimsy, unscary, bloodless, toothless films aimed at scaring 13 year old
girls, or else they devolve completely into torture porn – where the “thrill”
of seeing someone tortured to death is supposed to make us forget just how
poorly written, directed and acted these films are. While there are some truly
shocking, truly disgusting scenes of torture in The Loved Ones, this is clearly
not a torture porn film. What happens to Brent hurts – not just him, but also
the audience forced to watch it.
The key to the
movie – other than the perfect direction by Byrne, which brilliantly sets the
scene, and then drags us into the darkness – is the performance by Robin
McLeavy as Lola. In her first scene, she seems quiet, sad and a little
pathetic. We, in short, feel sorry for her when she naively reaches out to
Brent and tries to make a connection, only to be rejected. Brent is not mean
about it – he does not mock or insult her – but he has a girlfriend he is in
love with. Plus, there is something not quite right about Lola. When we meet
her again, dancing around in her room to the insanely catchy, creepy song
“Pretty Enough” by Charlene Choi while getting ready for her “big date”, her
programs become more in focus. By the end, she has created the most memorable
female horror villain since Sissy Spacek in Carrie. It is no stretch to say
that her performance is every bit as good as Spacek’s was in that movie.
The Loved Ones
is an original and truly frightening horror movie, and announces Byrne as one
of the most original voices working in the genre today. I have no doubt that
this movie will become a cult hit (most likely on DVD, until the inevitable
American remake happens. Yes, the movie is in English, but those accents, and
the lack of stars, will make this a harder sell Stateside). This is a horror
film for fans of horror films that are disappointed with what the genre has
recently has to offer.
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