The Loved Ones was a film that I went into blind. As someone who usually doesn't find too much enjoyment in torture porn-films, I was pleasantly surprised to find an uncommon amount of character and excellent acting, along with the aforementioned merciless barbarism.
While the characters aren't anything to write home about, they were realized with a surprising amount of efficiency. We never entirely understand the motives of the characters, but in this case, it doesn't make the film any less enjoyable. All of the characters are quite flawed and all of their imperfections are made clear through interesting, and often disturbing, interactions. The characters were surprisingly dimensional for a movie like this, and that was mostly thanks to the performances. Robin McLeavy, in particular, was uncompromisingly sinister. Despite being a teenage girl, it was not hard to despise her character, which is important for the main villain.
The violence is nightmarishly sadistic, and as the film reaches one narrative twist after another, it only grows more intense, as does our thirst for revenge. You never quite know where the plot is going, and each new horrifying development feels like a punch to the gut. The film doesn't waste time either. We're thrust into the nightmare quite early, giving the feeling of sickness in our stomach time to linger. Moments of dark comedy also work to make the experience strangely amusing. Despite the rather polished main plot line, there is a secondary strand of narrative that feels unnecessary and frankly pointless. It never goes anywhere and only seems to be there for something to cut to when the audience needs a break from the cruelty.
The Loved Ones repeatedly batters the audience with it's stomach-churning violence. The plot takes many sharp narrative turns, and while it's not always enjoyable to watch a film so unflinchingly deranged, it's certainly invigorating, up until our thirst for revenge is so satisfyingly quenched.
While the characters aren't anything to write home about, they were realized with a surprising amount of efficiency. We never entirely understand the motives of the characters, but in this case, it doesn't make the film any less enjoyable. All of the characters are quite flawed and all of their imperfections are made clear through interesting, and often disturbing, interactions. The characters were surprisingly dimensional for a movie like this, and that was mostly thanks to the performances. Robin McLeavy, in particular, was uncompromisingly sinister. Despite being a teenage girl, it was not hard to despise her character, which is important for the main villain.
The violence is nightmarishly sadistic, and as the film reaches one narrative twist after another, it only grows more intense, as does our thirst for revenge. You never quite know where the plot is going, and each new horrifying development feels like a punch to the gut. The film doesn't waste time either. We're thrust into the nightmare quite early, giving the feeling of sickness in our stomach time to linger. Moments of dark comedy also work to make the experience strangely amusing. Despite the rather polished main plot line, there is a secondary strand of narrative that feels unnecessary and frankly pointless. It never goes anywhere and only seems to be there for something to cut to when the audience needs a break from the cruelty.
The Loved Ones repeatedly batters the audience with it's stomach-churning violence. The plot takes many sharp narrative turns, and while it's not always enjoyable to watch a film so unflinchingly deranged, it's certainly invigorating, up until our thirst for revenge is so satisfyingly quenched.