After finding love with critics and being the darling at film festivals, The Loved Ones struggled to find a wide audience, even in its home country of Australia. Unfortunately, this one may be a victim to poor timing, as audiences were getting weary of anything that could be labelled “torture-porn” and streaming services were not yet around in mass to give overlooked films a second chance at life. Even today, in the age of endless streaming, The Loved Ones is not an easy horror film to locate, though it is definitely worth your trouble to seek it out. 

The Loved Ones is the debut feature of writer/director Sean Byrne, who has since added a second indie cult-horror, The Devil’s Candy, to his resume. Having seen, and liked, both of his films, I think it’s safe to say that if you have only seen one of Byrne’s films and liked it, then you’ll appreciate the other. He is a director who has a flare for heavy-metal infused films (though the soundtrack for The Loved Ones is more diverse) with short run-times. This is, of course, always a bonus if are starting a films after midnight.

The Loved Ones is about Brent (Xavier Samuel), a depressed teen trying to carry on after causing the car crash that killed his father. Even though the crash involved extenuating circumstances, Brent still is racked full of guilt and is only a self-destructive shell of his former self. In fact, it’s a minor miracle that his girlfriend Holly has stood by him. With patience like hers, she must be a keeper. 

So, obviously, when awkward classmate Lola (Robin McLeavy) invites Brent to the prom, he politely declines by honestly saying he is already going with Holly. Right answer. Wrong girl. Lola’s got a daddy that gets her everything she wants and right now she wants Brent.

In terms of plot, The Loved Ones does not drastically rewrite the formula of the typical abduction film. I have seen the film praised for flipping the genders of the traditional abduction flick, but I’ve seen enough male abduction stories like Audition, Hostel, to fully buy into this argument. Nevertheless, it does have a quite other elements that helps to elevate it from the fray. 

First off, The Loved Ones does an exceptional job making you empathize with Brent’s character. Brent is coping with severe depression, but it comes from a genuine trauma that we briefly witness. Byrne gives us a sliver of who Brent was before the accident, so we can speculate as to how its changed him. Nine months later, Brent has become emotionally detached, has a strained relationship with his mother, occasionally contemplates suicide and has developed a nasty habit of cutting. But at his core, Brent seems like a genuinely good guy whose self-destructive streak makes him only a danger to himself. He doesn’t even really ridicule Lola when she is out of earshot despite the insanity of her invitation. I mean, surely she knew he had a girlfriend? What did she expect? His life is bad enough before being kidnapped. So when the shit hits the fan, we don’t just root for Brent to escape his abductors, we want him to learn something that can snap him out of his state of prolonged grieving. 

As for Lola and her demented “family”- its really just Lola, her father and a mysterious, lobotomized woman named “Bright Eyes”- they are the stuff that would make the Sawyer family proud. Enough can’t be said about Robin McLeavy’s performance. Lola has a quirkiness, but its not over the top and rarely played for laughs. There is a real menace here, as she, even more then her doting father, is the one who is really in charge. I’d also like to give praise to Byrne for creating a family rich with a depraved history that is hinted at inside of Lola’s scrapbook and between the shared glances and inside jokes between the father and his daughter. As a writer, Byrne knows how to dole out information in between the lines.

As a writer, Byrne knows how to give even minor characters significance. There’s an engaging, often comical, subplot involving Jamie, Brent’s friend, and his prom date with a goth-ed out, Mia, that allows us to see a gender reversed version of the date Brent and Holly never had. (Later, we will learn that this also ties in with the theme of loss and grieving.) Likewise, Holly, Brent’s mother and Officer Valentine all have limited screen time, but their actions seem fueled by believable motivations.

From a gore perspective, The Loved Ones, has a knack for seeming worse then it really is and a lot of this can be credited to Byrne’s use of sound and editing. The script also escalates the tension in the way an abduction film should. With The Loved Ones, Byrne is a bit of a magician. He puts so many of his cards on the table early, that it doesn’t feel like a cheat when you learn he held a few back for the final act. In fact, I kind of felt that I should had seen all of the twists coming, yet quite a few still surprised me. That is good writing.

Finally, The Loved Ones, like The Devil’s Candy, demonstrates Byrne’s ability to use his soundtrack to add extra layers characterization. Lola listens to “Am I Pretty Enough”, a heartfelt indie song with a country twang. Brent plays metal to drown out the outside world. Jamie and Mia’s date is a mix of hard rock, metal and punk. Even Brent’s father, as short as his time on screen is, plays “Lonesome Loser” by the Little River Band. Each song has a purpose, and collectively they make a great soundtrack that highlights the diversity of the Australian music scene.

Now, I’ll admit that, like Revenge, to fully appreciate The Loved Ones requires either a certain level of suspension of belief or an exuberant faith in what can be overcome through sheer willpower. If you are willing to do this, then Byrne’s film is a really entertaining ride. The Loved Ones is a testament to the importance of creating good, fleshed out characters in film. 

When you consider that it was the Aussies who brought us Wolf Creek and Hounds of Love, it seems clear that crime and abduction films are embedded in the country’s collective DNA. But The Loved Ones stands out as being one of the better, if not the best, of the Australian crime offerings. Its amalgamation of wit, tension and gore makes for a wicked concoction that is easy to enjoy. This is filmmaking at its best.