Jason KingThe Loved Ones (9/10)
November 3rd 2010 20:13
:
Horror Film of the Year
Category: Reviews
It was a quiet weekend in the outback so three uber cool horror films hooked up for a threesome. There was Wolf Creek, there was Hostel and then there was The Descent. The spawn from this horrific frivolity was The Loved Ones.
In order to avoid a ghostly figure in the road, high school senior Brent Mitchell wraps his car around a tree, killing his father. Constantly confronted by his mother's emotional collapse after the accident, Brent escapes into a marijuana fueled world of loud metal music to block the pain and guilt. Dejected and out of sorts, he has a shot at happiness with his girlfriend Holly, a grounded, caring girl with drop dead good looks, a dream date for the high school prom. But his plans are thwarted by a disturbing series of events that take place under a mirrored disco ball, involving pink satin, glitter, syringes, nails, power drills and a secret admirer. Brent has become the prom king at a macabre, sadistic event where he is the entertainment.
For me this is by far the best horror film this country has produced, it is also my horror film of the year. I have not been so scared since I saw Scream for the first time in a 1000 seat cinema at midnight with one other person having no idea what it was about. My poor friend Sammy is no doubt suffering from a bruised arm today - I kept grabbing him and constantly leant towards him too scared to face the film alone. His comment on the film was "take the terror of Wolf Creek and times it by 1000".
It is not so much that it is a scary horror, although it is, it is more of a torture film that just scares the crap out of you at the possibility of being stuck in a similar situation. The film is so successful in it's execution that it shames many many slasher flicks made in the US on a huge budget. It is not only a horror film but one with a story, character development and characters you don't want to jump into the film and kill yourself. It successfully merges, unknowingly, three life stories and it does it all with limited dialogue.
Xavier Samuel is the lead and Xavier is my fave Australian actor, he stars in September, a film I reviewed in 2008, and claimed that he would take Hollywood and make it and following that I wrote about him in one of my favourite Australian films, Newcastle, where I went on further that he was about to hit it big time and now he has slaughtered the US market by nabbing the role of Riley in Twilight Eclipse. The Loved Ones was filmed prior to Eclipse and all I can say is I am so glad Hollywood listened to me hahahahahahaha. He plays this role superbly, considering his vocal cords do not work for 90% of this film everything is acted through emotions and strangled screams - he is brilliant!!
Robin McLeavy plays Mia and while she is a terminator styled serial killer from the bottom of the bucket of hell, I found some of her scenes way over acted, but this was also the success to a lot of her chilling delivery. John Brumpton is Mia's father, Eric, and he is just as creepy as his twisted daughter, they truly are best friends of the family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hideous.
The film also has a great comic relief couple that end up tied to the main story by the end. Richard Wilson as Sac and Victoria Thaine as Holly are an odd couple that give us all a few scared nervous laughs and towards the end they broaden the story and we actually find out the meaning of them even being in the film. They were both great to watch and without their humour the film would have been a disaster and too much to handle.
This is director Sean Byrne's seventh film but The Loved Ones is the first time I have heard of him and I also think he may have grabbed the attention of the US and we may see some horror films getting directed by him in the future, the film has received massive kudos at all the US film festivals. He also wrote this film and manages to nail all the characters. The character of Brent (Xavier) is brilliant, complex and has so many issues. But his immediate issues can all be dealt with because of his trauma and issues. For someone that cuts himself and lives a life of self torture this torture he is thrust into is something he can handle but also something that can wake him from his stupor and life of guilt.
I would love to say that this is a must see, but you must have a strong stomach and be ready for torture and to be scared. My poosie friends at CINEFOOLS are going to wait until DVD in the middle of the day and I would not let my mum see this. It does make you laugh at how over the top some scenes get, some of it was nervous laughter for me, but one scene at the very end had the whole cinema in hysterics. The film is out on September 30 so buy some diapers and grab your date as this would be a perfect date night movie. Hahahaha
In order to avoid a ghostly figure in the road, high school senior Brent Mitchell wraps his car around a tree, killing his father. Constantly confronted by his mother's emotional collapse after the accident, Brent escapes into a marijuana fueled world of loud metal music to block the pain and guilt. Dejected and out of sorts, he has a shot at happiness with his girlfriend Holly, a grounded, caring girl with drop dead good looks, a dream date for the high school prom. But his plans are thwarted by a disturbing series of events that take place under a mirrored disco ball, involving pink satin, glitter, syringes, nails, power drills and a secret admirer. Brent has become the prom king at a macabre, sadistic event where he is the entertainment.
For me this is by far the best horror film this country has produced, it is also my horror film of the year. I have not been so scared since I saw Scream for the first time in a 1000 seat cinema at midnight with one other person having no idea what it was about. My poor friend Sammy is no doubt suffering from a bruised arm today - I kept grabbing him and constantly leant towards him too scared to face the film alone. His comment on the film was "take the terror of Wolf Creek and times it by 1000".
It is not so much that it is a scary horror, although it is, it is more of a torture film that just scares the crap out of you at the possibility of being stuck in a similar situation. The film is so successful in it's execution that it shames many many slasher flicks made in the US on a huge budget. It is not only a horror film but one with a story, character development and characters you don't want to jump into the film and kill yourself. It successfully merges, unknowingly, three life stories and it does it all with limited dialogue.
Xavier Samuel is the lead and Xavier is my fave Australian actor, he stars in September, a film I reviewed in 2008, and claimed that he would take Hollywood and make it and following that I wrote about him in one of my favourite Australian films, Newcastle, where I went on further that he was about to hit it big time and now he has slaughtered the US market by nabbing the role of Riley in Twilight Eclipse. The Loved Ones was filmed prior to Eclipse and all I can say is I am so glad Hollywood listened to me hahahahahahaha. He plays this role superbly, considering his vocal cords do not work for 90% of this film everything is acted through emotions and strangled screams - he is brilliant!!
Robin McLeavy plays Mia and while she is a terminator styled serial killer from the bottom of the bucket of hell, I found some of her scenes way over acted, but this was also the success to a lot of her chilling delivery. John Brumpton is Mia's father, Eric, and he is just as creepy as his twisted daughter, they truly are best friends of the family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hideous.
The film also has a great comic relief couple that end up tied to the main story by the end. Richard Wilson as Sac and Victoria Thaine as Holly are an odd couple that give us all a few scared nervous laughs and towards the end they broaden the story and we actually find out the meaning of them even being in the film. They were both great to watch and without their humour the film would have been a disaster and too much to handle.
This is director Sean Byrne's seventh film but The Loved Ones is the first time I have heard of him and I also think he may have grabbed the attention of the US and we may see some horror films getting directed by him in the future, the film has received massive kudos at all the US film festivals. He also wrote this film and manages to nail all the characters. The character of Brent (Xavier) is brilliant, complex and has so many issues. But his immediate issues can all be dealt with because of his trauma and issues. For someone that cuts himself and lives a life of self torture this torture he is thrust into is something he can handle but also something that can wake him from his stupor and life of guilt.
I would love to say that this is a must see, but you must have a strong stomach and be ready for torture and to be scared. My poosie friends at CINEFOOLS are going to wait until DVD in the middle of the day and I would not let my mum see this. It does make you laugh at how over the top some scenes get, some of it was nervous laughter for me, but one scene at the very end had the whole cinema in hysterics. The film is out on September 30 so buy some diapers and grab your date as this would be a perfect date night movie. Hahahaha
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Comment by Jason King
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"This one's for the Kingswood" - totally Australian horror genius right there
And;
"Oh, it's crying, I guess I will have to kiss it better" LOL, wait until you see it
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Jason King
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I actually think you would enjoy this one Morgan and so glad to see you comment - haven't seen you on Orble for yonkers!!!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Great fun indeed. My review here.
There's a lot of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in this flick, more so than Hostel or The Descent I think.
It channels the 80s very much, and even though it doesn't say when it's set, it looks and feels like the 80s.
I thought Robin McLeavy was brilliant. She's primarily a stage actor and I loved her performances, it was pitched just right for her character and for the movie. John Brumpton was also great. To be honest, I wasn't hugely taken by Xavier's performance, but it didn't hamper my enjoyment of the movie.
It's over-the-top and far-fetched, but great unbridled horror fun!
Glad you liked it Jason, although to be honest, I wouldn't have picked you giving it 9/10!
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by Jason King
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And yes, I was there at Bondi screening. We were in the row with the idiot who thought it was cool to Twitter through the entire film - I think Sam nearly threw his shoe at him. So annoying - hope that wasn't you
To me it has the torture of Hostel and the basement of The Descent
IMDB has Byrne listed as making 7 films but I never read up about them all - they are probably all his shorts so I am not incorrect in saying this is his 7th.
Comment by Jason King
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Comment by Bryn
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Just fixed the Advantage link. Grrr, I hate that!
Wasn't aware of a Twitterer, so he must have been behind me and my wife, we were middle to the left of the screen. Curiously small house.
We'll introduce ourselves at one of these screenings!
Comment by K @ the Lair
Comment by Bryn
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Comment by Jason King
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Bryn - one of the first films I took my mum to with my own money was Hellraiser - I think I kind of ruined the horror genre back then
Mum - I dreamt, after this film, that Sam stuffed up at work so I drilled into his skull and poured in boiling water
Comment by ShaunK
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Comment by Bryn
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Comment by Jason King
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