The Loved Ones – Review Minor spoilers*
Written by Michael-Orian Bockus

Prom. What first comes to your head when I say that word? Is it the names of a whole bunch of crappy movies that are popping in your head right now? Then congratulations! You see the negative in everything just like me. However, there are always a few exceptions to the rule. The loved ones is one of those exceptions and it is a horror flick to boot!

More than competently directed by Sean Byrne, The loved ones stars Xavier Samuel as Brent, an angst ridden teenager still coping with the untimely death of his father. Just before he is about to go to school dance with his girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine), Brent is suddenly abducted by a psychopathic prom princess and her father (played superbly by Robin McLeavy and John Brumpton respectfully) so that they can put on a little school dance sprinkled with their own twisted, personal touch.

First, this movie is not for the squeamish. Yes there ARE worse movies out there in terms of gore, but they are applied more subtly here, making it's use all that more effective.
Second, this is a horror film where you actually do care about the characters, again, this makes the violence all the more unbearable.

Third, Robin McLeavy is phenomenal as the psychotic Lola. Her eyes scream: CRAZY!(believe me, I can spot crazy in a woman's eyes).

I am not getting into too much of the plot because I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone. However, I do have to touch on some of the negative plot points. The side story of Brent's best friend, Jamie and his night out, with a black haired hottie, at the actual dance kind of falls flat despite the inherent charm the actors bring to their roles. This side-story just doesn't have any particular oomph and ends with no real resolution for either characters involved. Another issue I had was with the age old cliché of inapt police officers. It seems every horror movie police officer was showed the same training video, only with the introduction explaining it was actually demonstrating what NOT to do, mistakenly removed.

But those are minor quibbles because the movie as a whole works very effectively. I give it 8 punctured heads out of ten (or for those who hate that type of punny rating, my keyboard only types stars anyway).

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Score: 8/10