31(ish) Horror Films in 31 Days: Day 2 - The Loved Ones

Two films in two days. Perfect record so far. Just twenty-nine more to go and I can scratch another item off of my bucket list that doesn't actually exist. Although, if it DID actually exist, and one of the items was "Drink 21 Fingers of Scotch and One Beer Within 7 Hours Without Vomiting" I could scratch that one off, too. Unless there was a responsibility clause that stated "Must be done without locking yourself out of your apartment the next day...you dumb dildo."

Yes, that actually happened...

But that's neither here nor there. What matters is that, instead of doing something mature and responsible today, I was able to take six catnaps and watch another horror film.

I see what you did there, Scotch...!

Full disclosure: In addition to actually wanting to write 31 reviews for 31 horror films, the driving force behind this is that it will get me to watch more movies. It's been so long since I've had the time or made an effort to see a lot of the films I'm planning to review and I know there are some that have slipped through the cracks and I will one day kick myself in the nuts for not making the time. Today...if I wasn't hung over (and if I was limber enough) I would be kicking myself in the nuts.

Entry #2: The Loved Ones

If you've ever been rejected by someone and had thoughts of kidnapping that person and torturing the shit out of them (who hasn't, right? Right....?), then The Loved Ones will help quench that thirst for sinister, high-school-style revenge.

The Loved Ones is the first feature film by Australian short filmmaker Sean Byrne (writer/director). It did very well at various film festivals including winning a People's Choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009. If this is a sign of things to come from Byrne, I will definitely be keeping my eye on him.

The film stars Robin McLeavy as Lola, the vengeful, psychotic, self-acclaimed princess whose invitation to a school dance is declined by Brent, played by Xavier Samuel, who some of you may know as Riley from the cinematic pinnacle of our lifetime: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. By "some of you", I mean "broads". You know who you are... I know a small handful of "actors" from those films and, unless they're Anna Kendrick, I just don't give a shit.

(she gets so giddy when I compliment her...)

But I'll give Xavier a pass since he did a fine job in The Loved Ones.

Robin McLeavy's character is introduced as an introverted wallflower type but as the film progresses she blossoms into one of my favorite on-screen psychotics in recent memory. She reminded me of a modern-day, less over-the-top, female version of The Shining's Jack Torrance (that guy with the Scotch up there^). From playful, almost baby talk-like banter to shouting at the top of her lungs, she manages to deliver every line exactly right for the current situation. Going from seemingly meek to being the controlling force in her household, even over her equally-insane father, I bought absolutely everything she was selling. I want to watch it again just to look for flaws but I know I'll just get sucked back into the film and not WANT to find any.

Robin McLeavy has since found work as Honest Abe's mother in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer and Eva in the AMC series Hell on Wheels. And I hope she continues to climb the ladder of success because, from what I've seen, she's got a what it takes to create a lengthy career within the industry.

The overall production of the film is decent enough. I think being more polished would do a disservice to the gritty subject matter. In addition to being a well-directed and well-acted film, there is also more to the story than you might expect at first. Without giving too much away, it's got a cleverness to it similar to the connecting events of films like Crash (which I hated) and 11:14 (which I really enjoyed) but it's more subtle in The Loved Ones. You're not left trying remember things that went down earlier in the film just to see if you can piece it all together before the film does it FOR you. But it's enough to make you go "Oooooh.....ok. I get it now."

I really enjoyed the music in the film as well. I thought each piece complemented the scene it was used in and helped create a useful dynamic between characters or, in some cases, within the same character at different points of the story.

My advice: See it. See the shit out of it. And then tell everyone you know to see it as well. If you or your friends don't like it....go watch another zombie film. Because you know how I feel about zombies....

Fuck Kanye.

Day 1: American Mary