“Torture porn” is a lazy journalistic
media label for the resurgence of splatter films in the mid-00s due to the
phenomenal commercial success of the hit and miss Saw franchise (2004 - 2010)
and Eli Roth’s solid duology of ‘Hostel’ (2005) and ‘Hostel Part II’ (2007). A
whole load of imitators followed milking the cash from the cow that were often
third-rate efforts such as the God-awful ‘Captivity’ (2007) but also included
more decent fare like ‘Turistas’ (2006) that exploited this type of horror entailing prolonged
violent sequences taken to the extreme. Explicitly depicted in these scenes are
sadistic torturous mutilation supplemented by a fair amount of female nudity
thrown in over the duration of the movies’ running times.
These conventions were already on display in
the works of Herschell Gordon Lewis the main innovator of splatter cinema who
laid down its foundations way back in 1963 with ‘Blood Feast’ the first gore
film proper and followed it up employing the same gory formula with such movies
as ‘Two Thousand Maniacs!’ (1964), ‘Color Me Blood Red’ (1965), ‘A Taste of
Blood’ (1967) etc. Lewis’ legacy would give him the nickname “The Godfather
of Gore” before Lucio Fulci would also take the moniker with his largely
overrated outright horror entries in his filmography that followed his
fantastic giallo period. Detractors re-branded the splatter sub-genre as “torture porn” for this new wave of movies which just simply displayed
the limited imaginations of some mainstream critics who have never had much
respect for horror as a whole as a serious genre of film anyway and know little
of its cinematic history.
2009 Independent Australian production ‘The Loved
Ones’ finally getting a limited US theatrical release in June and has long been
available in my native homeland of Britain since the year of its initial
release in 2010 came along at a time when the splatter sub-genre, oh sorry, the
“torture porn” sub-genre was starting to see diminishing returns at the
box office. ‘Saw VI’ released in ’09 underperformed making the least
amount of mula in the series even though it was a huge step up from the mediocrity of the previous two instalments.
Now remakes and reboots of brand horror titles are the big performers symbolising the sad sorry state of the
genre in America. Little creative vision is on display here, with Hollywood
instead opting for product renewal filmmaking to appeal to the already existing
fanbases of franchises and to reintroduce iconic movie maniacs already deeply
embedded in popular culture to a new generation who are even in the slightest
bit aware of these famous characters. There is no care for the material just a
hack mentality to sell the product with no name music directors assigned to
make it all look good having no idea as to what goes into making horror cinema.
The utterly dreadful A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) is a prime example
of all this.
‘The Loved Ones’ is a breath of fresh air
that takes elements of (I really hate using this term) so-called “torture porn”
but does not rely on it as its main focal point in selling itself. It is a lot
more than this and has an immense energy about it bursting with creativity that
is sorely lacking in stateside major studio horror today. While the torture sequences are indeed bloodily brutal and supremely uncomfortable and squirm
inducing, the tense taut psychological aspects that echo Tobe Hooper’s
masterpiece ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (1974) is what will have you on the
edge of your seat. It does not do anything vastly different and I can even say
that the premise is quite tired but writer and director Sean Byrne injects ultra-realism
along with lashings of black comedy into the proceedings and concentrates heavily
on characterization that is all wrapped up in a cleaver narrative structure. This
is all aided very well by Robin McLeavy’s juggernaut of a performance as the deranged
and twisted main antagonist Lola Stone "Princess" who has
sunk into a delusional world making for one of the screen’s more memorable
screen villainesses in a long time.
Brent (Xavier Samuel) is a 17-year-old
suffering from depression bordering on suicidal due to his grieving of the
death of his father in a car accident in which he was driving. The horrific
events that transpire are connected to this opening scene and are the cause of
Brent’s misery in his parental loss. Six months after the tragic incident he is
asked to the school prom by quiet girl Lola (McLeavy) who he turns down. Lola
then later abducts him with the help of her equally psychotic father played by
John Brumpton who is also creepily effective in an obsessive relationship that disturbingly
alludes to an incestuous one. From here, Brent battles to survive during the
loony father and daughter’s bizarre celebratory ritual in which they have him
as the centrepiece.
Right from the outset we are introduced to
Brent’s life; the trauma, his friends, girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine) and family. Byrne totally immerses us in
Brent’s world and we grow immediately attached to the people who are not only important
in his life but are all-instrumental to the story and its climax. The plot is a
tried and tested formula but it is the director’s clever little tweaks to it that
make it engaging viewing. While the basic storyline is been there done that it
does take some twists and turns along the way that will surprise you and have
you totally engrossed. This includes a sub-plot that features prominently throughout
detailing Brent’s best friend (Richard Wilson) Jamie’s big prom date with the
also emotionally troubled rebel Mia (Jessica McNamee) that might appear to seem
unnecessary at first but is actually an essential part of the main story. It
also interestingly juxtaposes Brent’s frightening plight with key scenes in
both storylines playing out against each other. Thanks to Sean Byrne’s sharp
writing and direction, this also helps the pace hurtle along rather than subjecting us to the monotony of a single location.
The movie lives up to the hype. As
well as the top quality of the writing and direction balancing perfectly the horror
and the comedic elements that not once overlap the shock factor never
corrupting it and strong acting all round especially from Robin McLeavy, it is
all beautifully filmed thanks to the gorgeous cinematography by Simon Chapman.
To top it all off nicely the soundtrack featuring contributed rock songs and an
original score is atmospherically enhancing. 'The Loved Ones' might not be
considerably original but it is testament to what a talented filmmaker can do with
a well worn out premise and gives it a refreshingly artistic make over. It is
dementedly crazy, disturbing, scary, funny and Steve Byrne lends a lot of emotion to
the material that is instantly relatable to any of us that went through those
horrible awkward teenage years. Insane fun.
**** out of ****
Dave J. Wilson
©2012
Cinematic Shocks, Dave J. Wilson - All work is the property of the credited
author and may not be reprinted or reproduced elsewhere without permission.
Great review! The "torture porn" sub genre has run its course and become tiresome. It's good to see an original movie come along with a new take on it. I'm going to check this movie out as soon as I can.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alex. I hope you enjoy it.
DeleteGood review man and utterly fantastic movie.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for calling out the whole "torture porn" thing. Whoever thought they were witty enough to coin a sub-genre so sloppily deserves a swift kick in the nuts. I preferred it more when it was just called exploitation.
Thanks, Eric. Yeah, "torture porn" is a pathetic term.
DeleteNice review, Dave! I also enjoyed your commentary about the term "torture porn," which seems to be used by critics as a condescending way to lump together unrelated genre films into one category, and distance themselves from subject matter that they consider distasteful.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barry. Exactly, it's a term coined by narrowminded critics who have no understanding of the genre.
DeleteGreat review. While it's a little late it is good to see The Loved Ones getting an American release. The hollywood horror scene is in a sad state these days. Also loved your analysis of the torture-porn genre, as always the horror genre is misunderstood and they seek to make us look cheap and dirty.
ReplyDeleteThanks, mate. Horror is a genre that has never had much respect from the majority of mainstream film critics. Coining terms such as "torture porn" emphasises that point.
Delete