The Loved Ones: 11 of 31 Horror Movies I've Never Seen!

Australia, known for beautiful beaches, kangaroos, and some of the most poisonous insects on the Earth, has been the home to a slew of incredibly violent films over the years.  From Wake In Fright to Wolf Creek Australians know how to tell a good shocker.  It should come in no surprise that the aptly The Loved Ones fits the bill and then some.

The film starts off with a traumatic car crash before picking up 6 months later.  Our main protagonist, Brent (played by Xavier Samuel) has survived the crash, but his father unfortunately has not.  We learn in the next bit or so that Brent is having a hard time coming to terms with the accident and the upcoming prom is not exactly helping.  Enter Lola, the quiet girl who asks Brent to the prom only to suffer a polite rejection as Brent has a girlfriend.  If you didn't know any better you'd think this was going to end up in dance shenanigans and mayhem, but this is Australia.  While blowing off some steam in a random act of rock climbing, Brent is kidnapped by who is revealed to be Lola's father and then the true meat of the story begins and Brent has to endure incredible acts of torture all in a frantic attempt to survive the prom night from hell.

Lola is played with a sadistic fury by Robin McLeavy, her father, credited only as Daddy, by John Brumpton, and I when I say sadistic I mean it.  She captured the essence of utter sociopath insanity, with a gleeful intensity that made me cringe more than once.  The sheer shifts from whimsical to violent in both actors were unsettling if not downright creepy which makes it incredibly easy to sympathize with the previously brooding Brent.  Brent's plight and will to survive make him an industrious protagonist as he nearly escapes once only to be captured and suffer further torture before the mega-climactic ending scenes.

The first bit of the story suffers from a bit of silly dialogue, but overall it doesn't dwell, like too many horror movies of this type, in the back story.  We meet the characters and then the twists start falling in place.  Everyone is connected, including the Best Friend Side Arc that plays alongside the torturous celebration at Lola's house, injecting a healthy dose of comedy to slow down the audience's collective pulse.  If you cut that out I imagine some audience members could easily lose their lunch, as the violence in the film is incredibly graphic and realistic.

Well shot, well scored, and with great make up effects this film sets a pace and then delivers in a stunning fashion.  Not for the faint of heart.

4 out of 5 skulls.