Lonely Hearts

This film is all you can expect given the budget and the quite niche indie horror subgenre. But even then, there are much better and more originals examples out there that display a better utilization of the limited budget at hand.

But I must really single out one actor in Lonely Hearts, or rather his extraordinarely big 'member', which clearly stands out: Chris Mills. His brave (exploitative) nude scene is one of the few silver linings in this film. In the past it has usually been female nudity that served as a gateway to attract a wider audience, in Lonely Hearts it is the focus on some truly terrific male nudity for a change which still makes this indie flick somewhat worthwhile. Great that we finally got to enjoy the female gaze when it comes to the nudity department.

Fully uncertain of how to rate this because it takes turns into about four different genres before ending in a wildly different place than it existed for the majority of the film. I have to credit the film's ability to surprise.

I assumed form the first few minutes that it was a dark-edged satire of Bachelor-style dating shows, which it was. But it had some other things on its mind as well. Companionship versus sexual desire, the manipulation and abuse in reality TV, some commentary on religious belief. And it becomes what it ends up being so slowly that by the time it hits, you'd forgotten to expect it was coming. Perhaps not a great movie, but definitely an interesting one that was trying something different. Oh, and lots of dong in this movie. More dong than you generally get in most movies.

Lonely Hearts (2019) simply never looks like something that would be broadcast on tv, unless we're talking on a late-night slot on Bravo in 2005. Shaky hand-held cameras and poor sound recording went out of vogue with Davina McColl's Streetmate, guys. It's not a deal-breaker by any means though, and a terrific campfire question-and-answer game in the last act more than makes up for it, where uncomfortable truths are revealed in a squirm-inducing fashion. There's an unsettling folk-horror vibe to some parts too, particularly a treasure hunt sequence. I just wish they'd used the countryside location more, to fully capitalise on it. The horror elements don't really come to the fore until the last few minutes, in an ending that isn't really earned and doesn't make much sense, but is fairly effective nonetheless. Up until that point, Lonely Hearts is more of a satirical erotic drama, which is a small, small genre indeed.

Please let this movie cancel its tv show (within the movie).

Lonely Heaarts starts as a camping reality tv show with 5 people (2 men and 3 women) to explore singles, dating, and the extremes of reality tv.

The film ultimately ends with death, but without much reasoning for this. The rest of the movie has manipulation by the production crew, attempts at overt sex, nudity, and pushing people's boundaries. Only, this film lacks spark, character, and excitement. This film seesm to want to shock with it's approach, but the situation is a tired retread of most any dating reality show without much gumption or energy.

Lonely Hearts misses all the marks for a horror film, having no tension or suspense. It simply panders to what we think we want to see behind the scenes of a reality show. And then it's cobbled with a sudden shift in tone without much in terms of explanation or rationality.

Not worth watching at all.

Basically an excuse for some (attempted) titillating sex that uses horror trappings in an bid to disguise what it's actually concerned with. And it doesn't really perform well on any front (being either sexy or scary). The idea of utilizing a reality show as a setting for some horror shenanigans is solid enough, but there's just nothing to distinguish it from similar offerings, and it takes WAY too long for anything even remotely creepy to begin to transpire. The only real positive that can found here is Alice Mulholland, who is the performer that tries hardest to find a real character in the material.