The Loved Ones (2009)

The Loved Ones (2009) — Crime / Drama / Horror High-school senior Brent Mitchell is a teenager trying to survive grief and guilt after a car crash that killed his father. When he turns down an invitation to the prom from a disturbed classmate, Lola, her rejection explodes into a meticulously planned, violently sadistic revenge. Brent is abducted and forced to play the unwilling center of a macabre prom night—pink satin, glitter, syringes, nails, power drills and a deeply obsessive admirer assisted by her father. Watching this film is an intense, uncompromising experience. The movie mixes raw emotional drama (grief, shame, teenage longing) with brutal, often graphic horror; scenes are tense, claustrophobic and occasionally darkly twisted. Expect visceral body-horror, jolting moments of violence, a pounding rock/metal-infused soundtrack, and a contrast between gleaming prom-glamour aesthetics and sickening brutality. At its core the film is as much about obsession and revenge as it is about a traumatized young man fighting to survive. Content warnings: strong violence and torture, bloody/gory imagery, psychological cruelty and disturbing themes. Recommended for viewers who can handle transgressive, hard-edged horror with a bleak sense of irony and emotional undercurrent.

Actors: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, John Brumpton

Director: Sean Byrne

Runtime: 84 min

Genres: Crime, Drama, Horror

6.2 /10 73 /100 6.6 /10 6.7 /10