The Loved Ones

JESUS GOD IN HEAVEN WAS THAT INTENSE. I’d heard this was an intense movie that would make your skin crawl. I didn’t believe it. I thought it couldn’t be as crazy as the reviews said. I was wrong. So, so, so wrong. And it doesn’t take long, either. The movie gives you a shocking amount of character development in fifteen minutes before this thing steps on the gas and does not stop. Once the main story kicks in, it is all adrenaline. This is not a movie for the faint of heart. This isn’t campy slasher gore; this is sadistic, but grounded gore. The main villain, Lola, and her father, are positively out there, and it is disturbing as all hell to see how they torture the lead, Brent, for the crime of saying no to Lola about going to the dance. But this isn’t Saw or Hostel torture porn, no, sir. This is about a young woman and her dad that are totally, utterly, and irrevocably fucked in the head. Robin McLeavy, who plays Lola, is one of the most disturbing, psychotic horror villains I have ever seen. Her depravity and bottomless well of insanity had me actually talking back to the TV and covering my eyes. It’s that screwed up. If there is one flaw, it’s the existence of the B-plot with Brent’s friend and his date to the dance. It never ties into the main plot, ever. I suppose it exists to give you a breather, but it just feels like time-filler. But that’s it. There is nothing bad about this movie. Not a damned thing. There is some magnificent direction (look for a scene near the end that’s a long shot of a police car; it’s framed so perfectly, and plays out in such a wonderful way), the acting is chilling, and the effects are top notch. This is a breathtaking horror movie. Truly deserving of all the accolades — and all the warnings — you see about it.