The Loved Ones (2009)

This movie is exactly why I enjoy being a horror fan. This film really grabs a hold of its indie nature and kicks you straight in the groin. Intense, Uncomfortable, and in some cases down right nasty are the best ways to describe The Loved Ones. The harsh reality of this movie is that it will probably not be seen by most casual horror fans. To most, they will pass this off as some straight to video, low rate horror flick and will not give it the time of day. That statement could not be further from the truth.

The Loved Ones was shot in Australia in 2009. While the film made the usual festival rounds shortly after it had trouble being distributed here in the States. Eventually the film was picked up by Paramount Insurge, given a very limited theatrical run in June of 2012 and released on home video on September 2012, 3 years after is creation. Why it took so long to be picked up is beyond me. Unfortunatly that is just an example of how good horror is overlooked so that overly generic PG-13 "Teeny Horror" can get massive studio backing and promotion.

At any rate The Loved Ones takes you on a twisted journey in the home and life of a high school psychopath. Without giving anything away, its prom time in Australia, and Lola is going to get what she wants. This movie is not entirely original, but it has great concepts and in some ways grabs influence from the infamous serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. however most don't realize it. I am probably twisted for noticing the similarity right off the bat. at any rate, The Loved Ones will, for the most part, keep you on your toes and at some points say "No Fucking Way" and make you wanna look away from the screen. In my book...they did well.

The story is good, but does have some plot holes, fortunately they are minor and easily forgotten about once the action picks up. I felt all the actors did great jobs and major kudos to Robin McLeavy & Xavier Samuel for their portrayals of Brent and Lola. I felt the dynamic and tension of the 2 together really helped their characters and made the film very entertaining. Written & Directed by Sean Byrne, this film stands as his full length directorial debut as well as first time writing a full length script.

As I stated before there are some small plot holes but I eventually didn't care due the the graphic nature of the film. The special effects where very good. you get a cleaver to the face (F13-4 style), some nice chest carving, knives trough the feet, hit and runs, and the best of the film drill to the skull. All of which look great. As for the nudity you get 2 sex scenes, one shows some female action and a dude shirtless, the other is a brief back of car scene where you don't see much of anything.

Overall I was very happy with The Loved One, its cleaver story and humor really make it worthwhile, while the atmosphere and acting make you really want to wash your hands. GLP give The Loved Ones 4 out of 5 stabs for great special effects, acting and atmosphere. If you wanna check out this movie is available on DVD. To find out more about the title you can visit the films Facebook. View the trailer below.

 

GLP Rating