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After trundling out of a screening of The Loved Ones
and lamenting the otherwise poor state of modern horror, I quizzed a
fellow reviewer about great horror movies of the past twenty years. All
he could muster was a shy nod to Stephen King’s remarks about Let Me
In. “He called it the greatest American horror movie of the past
twenty years,” he said. I replied, “Yeah, but that’s a real movie.”
Pretty in Pink Lola (McLeavy) preparing for her demented prom night
What I meant
of course, is that Let Me In needent be classified as a mere
exemplar of a genre – its characterisations and style defy, as the
Swedish original did, genre conventions. By contrast The Loved Ones
– a beautiful, energetic slice of low-budget Aussie horror – is part
of a clear tradition. Misery, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and
Carrie all get their due from first time director Sean Byrne, who is
clearly indebted to his forbearers but deftly straddles a precarious
line between torture porn and sardonic humour.
To reveal
the plot would be to spoil the film’s considerable surprises (and the
lengthy trailers should be avoided for this reason), but let’s just say
this: Lola (a delicious Robin McLeavy) lusts after her perfect prom
night with Brent (Xavier Samuel, Twilight: Eclipse), and she and
her obedient father (John Brumpton), will do anything to make it a
reality. “Anything,” in this instance, involves finger-licking chicken,
knives and power drills. But while what ensues under the glistening
disco ball in the isolated outback home is often excruciatingly tense,
this is no gross splatter flick. Thanks to Byrne’s note perfect editing,
like all great horror movies, The Loved Ones implies more than it
shows.
Do you like my painting, daddy?
Intercut
with this mayhem is a John Hughes-esque subplot concerning Brent’s
awkward friend (Richard Wilson) and his emo-goth date (Jessica McNamee),
which is amusing but ultimately perfunctory. The real standout, more
than the impressive production design and evocative rural setting, is
McLeavy as the demented villain. At once adorable and completely
bat-shit insane, she’s essentially a petulant child with daddy issues,
and it’s her obsession with creating the perfect bookend to her
high-school career that drives the film, and gives it a kind of poetic,
twisted logic.
The movie
has done the rounds at festivals including Toronto, Hong Kong and Sydney
to great audience and critical praise. It’s the kind of experience,
replete with cheers and shrieks at every gruesome turn, which you want
to share with a packed audience. And for all its financial woes and a
tendency for dour drama, it’s the kind of film (along with suburban
satire and urban crime) Australia does very well. A stylish and
efficient entry into the annals of screen horror, and a must for genre
geeks. |
