The Loved Ones

Meet Lola Stone. Outcast. Weird. Obsessive. Pink. MAD PSYCHO KILLING SLUT. And she's still in high school. - Yes folks this has been named Pretty in Pink meets Wolf Creek, or maybe more acceptable, Australia's answer to horror classic Carrie.
First time writer and director Sean Bryne brings this Australian horror comedy, The Loved Ones, to our screens - holding nothing back. The protagonist is young Brent (played by Twilight's Xavier Samuel) who is battling the depression of his recent father's death in a car accident, while Brent was behind the wheel. Meanwhile he has lost any connection with his mother who just sits at home all day with the blues, looking like a corpse.
Brent also has to worry about the upcoming end of year dance, celebrating his final year at a small Victorian country town high school. Enter Lola Stone. After Brent politely rejects Lola to be her escort to the dance, as already having planned to take his girlfriend, Lola seeks revenge.
And so the sick and gory tale begins, where Lola and her Father kidnap Brent and have their own, more bloody and glittery dance.
What works so well for this film is the fact that it spends time developing the characters, and more importantly it has a STORY! And unlike the Hollywood crap B-grade horror films, The Loved Ones soars above them with it's tongue-in-check humour and relentless ability to continually up the stakes.
The film's success was all up to the casting of Lola - if she was portrayed shit, the film would be shit. But thankfully actress Robin McLeavy portrayed Lola so fucking good that she may have created Australia's most scariest antagonist. The acting overall was incredibly well portrayed, what I especially liked was the fact that the film didn't rely on Hollywood corny dialogue, and a lot of the film was portrayed in the actions of the characters. Brent played brilliantly by Xavier Samuel has no lines for more than half the film, yet the audience is easily able to connect and sympathise with the character.
Yes this film is gory, very much like the Saw gore we have come accustomed to of late, the only difference is we care more for these characters. The mutilations of Brent feels very much like an attack on our own body as it is to his, which results in one amazingly fucked up experience.
What works well is the subplot of Brent's best friend and his journey to the actual school dance, which helps to break up the incredibly unforgiving gory parts. Thankfully the subplot redeems itself through the best friends date, who we later learn is dealing with her own grief caused by the crazy-killing Stone family.
The only real issue I had with the film was the fact that the eventual epiphany of "Brent must be at Lola's" was too contrived and wasn't properly setup. It could have been stronger if in the beginning of the film, Brent and his girlfriend actually notice Lola watching them, which results in the couple freaking out and Lola giving the excuse that Brent had left his book at school. The book could have been left in the car, and the girlfriend would have later found it, maybe with a love letter from Lola inside, triggering a more satisfying realisation.
I think the main reason this film works is the fact that it IS Australian and subsequently it is a film that has the ability to NOT take it self too seriously, which means that the audience is able to laugh in some moments contrasting with the 'squirming in the seat' action that occurs through the more intense parts.
Sure this not everyone's cup of tea, and to be honest, I am not one for horror films myself. But this film is amazingly wicked. My rating reflects its comparison to other horror films.
Go see it. And remember: DO NOT UPSET LOLA!