The Loved Ones (2009)

The Loved Ones is every cute high school boy's worst nightmare. Brent (Xavier Samuel) is asked to the prom by the socially awkward Lola (Robin McLeavy) and politely declines. Mind you, Brent's not being mean here, he just already has a date. Unfortunately, Lola doesn't take "no" for an answer and has her doting father (John Brumpton) abduct her would-be Prince Charming for a fun night of torture.

So, pretty simple plot that's standard horror film fodder. A revenge tale with a healthy sprinkling of demented family. But can it really be any good?

Surprisingly, yes. It's very solid in its story-telling and the characters are certainly memorable. Okay, some of the characters are a little too memorable. There was more than one time where I found myself wishing that the putty man "Daddy" would snap out of his completely inappropriate love stupor for his daughter and just strangle the spoiled little princess. Even still, if that was the impression that Lola was supposed to give us, then she hit the character dead-on and must be applauded for it.

The film is fairly graphic, and it does teeter on the edge of being in the torture porn genre. The general dysfunctional characters of Lola, Daddy, and a mysterious character known only as "Bright Eyes" (Anne Scott-Pendlebury) who I suspect is Lola's mother, is over-the-top in some ways and quite disturbing in others.

Technically speaking, there are a lot of little flaws that a keen eye will catch and laugh/complain about. However, it's still a good film given its budget limitations, and is entertaining once you get used to the bratty Lola character.

Film Information: The Loved Ones




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