Prevenge

One of my partner's strangest pregnancy cravings was to consume this dark slasher film before she popped - hastily written and filmed in the weeks before Alice Lowe herself did likewise. The fact that this authentic angle is there gives this otherwise unfocused narrative a strange gravity. It ultimately amounts to just one improbable murder after the next but Lowe's glowering sarcasm gives each interaction (with a succession of brilliantly cast folk) a nice edge. It does feel a bit first-drafty and there are some holes in it that make Prevenge unravel before the finale but the nature of how it was filmed and why I watched it will likely leave this particular film as an uncanny experience. A dark night of horrors before a totally new day.

There's some fun to be had here with this dark comedy. A pregnant woman goes on a murdering spree on the people involved in her unborn child's father's climbing death. A movie like this could have been completely unwatchable so I appreciate that they got the tone just right. The child speaks to her from the womb but it never gets completely goofy. The violence she commits is brutal and bloody and it doesn't attempt to trivialize or justify their deaths.

Despite that, there is entertainment to be had as the more she kills the more unhinged she becomes. At times it's an almost playful performance from Alice Lowe who also wrote and directed it. Overall a respectable movie. Nicely shot considering it was done in under 2 weeks.

Watched this late on a Friday night to kill some time before I could sleep knowing nothing about it other than 'I enjoyed Sightseers' and was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Alice Lowe has done a fantastic job with this project as it is very well written, well directed and well cast. All the acting is very good and it doesn't come across as being a low budget film, despite only having a modest £100000. The concept (pregnant woman goes on killing spree under the command of her unborn child) sounds very corny, but is actually extremely well done and doesn't come across as cringeworthy at any point. The writing is funny and quite suspenseful and the characters are interesting, realistic and I found myself sympathising with the more likeable ones.

Overall I would recommend watching this film if you enjoy traditional black British humour. You shouldn't be disappointed.

After having enjoyed Alice Lowe's performance in Sightseers from 2012, I looked forward to see her directional debut in Prevenge. And I was not disappointed as the movie continues the tone with dark humor and explicit crime scenes. Lowe was heavily pregnant during the making of the movie. She plays the puzzled pregnant Ruth having lost the baby's father and facing birth on her own. Just like in Sightseers she is living on the edge of society in her own illusory world and feels that her unborn child is increasingly dictating her thoughts and actions. The movie depicts a depressing perspective of a pregnant women facing denials in all aspects of society. Nurses, flirting men, job interviewers, landlords, everyone is letting Ruth down because of her "circumstance". But the movie is more than a moral statement. It's a story of how a person can lose grip after a blow of fate. As in the prior movie, heavy violence is shown as a result of the main character's deep obsession. So I recommend this movie only to those who can stand explicit and bloody scenes. Many cynical and funny elements within the conversations make Prevenge an entertaining movie to reflect on with a shaking ending.

Ruth is a pregnant woman on a killing spree dictated by her unborn child, seemingly holding society responsible for the absence of a father.

It surely earns points on originality, this is a really unusual and transgressive movie. Unfortunately loses points because of an unlikeable protagonist and continuosly creepy images and situations, all this leaving a really bad taste in your mouth while watching it making you feel uncomfortable and not in a "good" way (this anyway may ultimately be the end goal of the filmaker and may appeal to a specific audience). You may be tempted/intrigued to see it or even like it if you like deep transgression and you are bored by traditional movies.