The Loved Ones

"The Loved Ones" is an adequate example of the now well-worn "torture" genre, but for the most part it's likely to give viewers a feeling of deja vu. It gets more interesting & amusing as it goes along, but doesn't have very much plot - or much point to it at all. It's likely to delight the hardcore horror crowd who favour cruelty and plenty of gore, in any event. The main asset is a memorable antagonist who's cute but deadly. We don't ever get to know the victim that well, but it's not exactly hard to feel bad for him. (One thing must be said: he has a lot of fight in him!) Also, there's a subplot with two characters that never really goes anywhere.

Lola, a.k.a. "Princess" (Robin McLeavy, "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"), doesn't take rejection well at all. When Brent (Xavier Samuel, "Road Train") declines to take her to the prom, she gets back at him in a major way, by having her dear old daddy (John Brumpton, "Storm Warning") abduct Brent so they can spend the night tormenting him at their own private gathering. Soon he learns just how utterly demented this duo is; meanwhile, people notice he's missing and try to track him down.

If it weren't for a squirm-inducing scene involving a power drill - it's the sound effects that really sell it - and the tour de force acting by McLeavy, there wouldn't be much to recommend this. That is, of course, unless one is partial to this sort of material to begin with. Unfortunately, even for a movie running a scant 85 minutes long, it feels longer than it is. And it's ultimately pretty damn predictable.

Good soundtrack, though.

Six out of 10.

Totally surprised by how awesome this was. I was expecting some campy shallow high school horror film and instead got real thrills, real scares, and REAL CHARACTERS! Can't stress that enough. Awesome performances by actors who had characters written as real people, not effen cardboard cutouts like most slasher films. The only thing that kept me from giving this a ten and declaring it perfect was it is a little thin on any level other than shock-fest. We're treated to a weird family and twisted attachments but it could have been a vehicle to actually SAY something. But even though it didn't make me put on my thinking cap or change my world-view, it was still so much more impressive than I was prepared for!

A far from original tale that bleeds from the initial events when a young and inexperienced driver, through very little fault of his own, removes an important part of his parental relationship by crashing the car at the price of his father's life. As is customary in the genre, the events that unfold some months later are probably more a reflection of the guilt, mental health and anguish being suffered by the young driver, although to believe the type of sadistic pairing he encounters exists, and that they were able to get away with their brutality in the first instance, is far from believable (or maybe not in the place this was made). If you like a bit of incestuous, torturous tyranny, like the aforementioned pair, for no other reason than that's how you get your kicks, then pile in and gorge on the cruelty and sadistic savagery of shallowness.

Many horror movies have been made about high school outcasts. High School in itself can be and is a real horror story for many kids across the world. "The Loved Ones" tells such a story that goes to extreme and disturbing lengths. The movie is from and based in Victoria, Australia and when it comes to bat s**t crazy movies the Aussies really go all out. Lola (Robin McLeavy) is a seemingly shy and meek girl who gathers her courage to ask her crush Brent (Xavier Samuel) to the prom. While Brent who looks a lot like the late Heath Ledger, already has a girlfriend he is going with. He politely declines her offer and leaves. Obviously hurt and disappointed Lola who with help from her father have plans to make it a night to remember.

Ever since Brent was involved in a car accident that took his dad's life he has never been the same. He was driving at the time and blames himself for his death. His mom has also become an emotional zombie. He spends his days smoking pot, listening to heavy metal music and contemplating suicide. His girlfriend Holly is caring and supportive but can only do so much. Just before picking her up for the dance he goes on another one of his lonely contemplative walks, when he is assaulted and kidnapped. If you can connect the dots you'll guess that it was Lola and her father. They bring him to their house and tie him to a chair.

A lot of what we see in the first half of "The Loved Ones" is nothing new, but things do get a lot better. Brent is tortured by Lola and her father. The family along with their creepy comatose almost dead mother is somewhat reminiscent of the crazy family from "Texas Chainsaw" but so many films have gone there it has become quite the horror cliché. At one point Brent does escape, but is quickly rounded up.

There is another storyline going on that really doesn't seem too fit. It follows Brent's BFF Jaime as he takes this Goth chick to the prom. They spend most of the time in the car drinking, smoking pot and being uncomfortable with each other until they start making out. There are some good character moments and the filmmakers do try to link up some of the characters and their "loved ones" towards the end but the whole storyline seems a little misguided. A third story line involves Holly, Brent's mother, and a policeman as they search for Brent.

Lola's torture of Brent starts going to extreme lengths and we also find out a bunch of disturbing back story of the family and what is really going on in their house. Brent is not her first play thing as there have been many others just like him, and she is getting good at it. The movie continues to go down a very dark path and gets just as insane as Lola and her father. Brent throughout his ordeal shows a strong will to live as he fights back against his captors with every chance he gets. The movie comes in at a very trim hour and twenty minutes and although it was made on a tight budget it looks and feels like something that cost a whole lot more. The violence and gore is pretty intense and extremely well done. This is director Sean Byrne feature debut and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next. "The Loved Ones" is available on DVD or Blu-ray and is a must see for any horror fan.

The Loved Ones is written and directed by Sean Byrne and stars Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy and John Brumpton. An Australian horror, the plot sees Brent Mitchell (Samuel) kill his father in a car accident. Stricken with grief he attempts to get on with his life aided by his girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine). But when the quietest girl in school, Lola Stone (McLeavy), asks him to the prom and he says no, he finds that he is suddenly the prom king star of a very different sort of party....

Kinda sick, kinda twisted, but an utterly compelling Aussie blood letting exercise that transcends torture porn whilst revelling in a sick sense of humour. With wry observations on teen angst and meditations on grief, loneliness, alienation and forbidden desires, Sean Byrne's film isn't out to solely shock the audience. With an evidently small budget to work from, Byrne has kept things tight and minimalist, this aids the film considerably, adding a sort of realism to the characters before it goes into overdrive as Brent (Samuel superb) finds that politely turning down Lola's (McLeavy a wonderfully monstrous creation) request has opened up (literally) a new world of pain. There's a misstep of a subplot involving another fumbling Goth couple actually going to the real prom, it serves no purpose other than to up the horny angst quota, but this is mostly slick/sick stuff. Backed by a kicking soundtrack, that's headed by the reoccurring Kasey Chambers hit single "Not Pretty Enough", itself creepy personified, The Loved Ones is highly recommended to horror fans who like a bit of torture in their diets. 8/10