Teenager Brent Mitchell is approaching the one time all high schoolers dream of besides graduation: the high school prom. He and his girlfriend Holly are anticipating for it to be wonderful, as is his best friend Jamie. Nothing ever goes right in your teenage years though. After Brent turns down an offer to the prom from his classmate Lola, she and her father exact revenge on the boy, kidnapping him and preparing him for a truly memorable night...
I can give this film credit for one thing; it made me feel less embarrassed that I skipped my prom in 2003 and opted to go to a concert instead. That and it is further evidence that everything (and everyone) in Australia is looking to inflict harm upon you. This is a fairly twisted, but also surprisingly funny horror film that I think most fans of the genre will enjoy.
There is a very distinguishing tone that this film sets after Brent is kidnapped, and you can't help but feel incredibly nervous for him. Xavier Samuel plays the character well, and there isn't a moment that goes by where you don't like him. He felt like someone I could have been friends with during my days in high school (and not just because he's a metalhead), as did most of the cast of characters. Honestly, everyone does a pretty solid job here and nobody is phoning it in. Thankfully the film doesn't just consist of pure torture throughout the surprisingly short running time, as there is also a side story with Jamie's equally strange prom night. The Jamie story sharply contrasts that of Brent's, and while it is a tad bit cliched, I think it was needed. If the film had been nothing BUT torture, I think it would have lost steam and gotten stale.
The real star here is Robin McLeavy, who is positively twisted and immediately memorable as Lola "Princess" Stone, the antagonist of the film. She brings a combination of dementia and blissful ignorance to this character with a tiny bit of "realism" that ends up elevating it to another level. If Asami from Audition had a better relationship with her father, you'd get her. To say that she doesn't take rejection well would be an understatement. I hope she gets more work in the future, particularly in the horror field.
It took three years for this to hit the states. Admittedly, I had never heard of this film until approximately four or five months ago, but I can assure you that the film is worth the wait, no matter how long or how short you may have been waiting for an official release. Some might complain about a revelation that is made halfway through the film, citing it as predictable or flat out unresolved, but given that The Loved Ones tries for a more realistic feel, it isn't hard to answer the question yourself.
With the 31 Days of Horror Marathon coming soon, this serves as a nice precursor to it. Skimming through online websites, I discovered that this ISN'T on Blu-Ray, nor does it contain anything pertaining to extras. That complaint lies more with the distributors rather than the filmmakers, as this is my favorite horror film that I've seen since I Saw The Devil. When Cabin In The Woods is released next week, however, I may have to retract that statement.
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