The Loved Ones (2009)
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A teenager who declines a classmate's invitation to a school dance finds himself kidnapped and subjected to a sadistic, prom-themed torture.
The story
High schooler Brent is involved in a tragic car accident that kills his father. Six months later, he politely declines an invitation to the school formal from a classmate named Lola Stone, choosing to spend time with his girlfriend, Holly. Unbeknownst to Brent, Lola is watching them. After Brent leaves his home to go to a nearby cliff, he is knocked unconscious by someone. He wakes up bound to a chair in a house decorated to look like a formal, where he is held captive by Lola and her father, Eric.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Brent crashes his car and kills his father, he is kidnapped by Lola Stone and her father, Eric, because he declined her prom invitation. They hold him in a house decorated like a prom, where Lola injects bleach into his voice box to prevent him from speaking and begins a series of sadistic acts, including branding him and pinning his feet to the floor with knives. Brent eventually manages to free himself and attacks Eric with a hidden razor blade, pushing him into a cellar filled with other starving, lobotomized captives. Lola then attempts to lobotomize Brent by drilling a hole in his skull, but he escapes again. When Brent's girlfriend Holly and her father (a police officer) search for him, Lola kills the officer. Brent eventually escapes the cellar by climbing over corpses. In the climax, Brent arrives in a police car and runs over Lola, eventually crushing her skull. Brent and Holly return home to be embraced by Brent's mother.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 84
- Production countries
- Australia
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sean Byrne
- Writers
- Sean Byrne · writer; Sean Byrne · director
- Cast and characters
- Xavier Samuel · Brent; Robin McLeavy · Lola; John Brumpton · Eric; Richard Wilson · Jamie; Victoria Thaine · Holly; Jessica McNamee · Mia; Andrew S. Gilbert · Paul; Suzi Dougherty · Carla
- Genres
- horror; thriller; teen; comedy; splatter
- Themes
- self-harm; incest; revenge; obsession
- Tone and mood
- tongue-in-cheek; sadistic; violent
- Premise and plot tags
- high school; prom; kidnapping; torture
- Content notes
- violence; torture; incest
- Reception
- The film was well-received, particularly for its mix of teen and horror genres and its tongue-in-cheek approach. It earned a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was lauded for its main twist.
- Production trivia
- The film was the first feature for short filmmaker Sean Byrne.; The film's rating was successfully replaced from R18+ to MA15+ due to its comedy aspect.; A real-life crime in 2013 was described by a judge as a re-enactment of a scene from this film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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