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Sunday 30 October 2016

Best of the London Film Festival 2016: Prevenge

In which Alice Lowe comes of age and reveals herself to be a distinctive new voice in British cinema that should be embraced and encouraged.

Having apprenticed with Ben Wheatley, here Lowe writes, stars in and for the first time directs. She is clearly from the school of Wheatley: this is a jet black, gory revenge comedy with a shocking impetus at its core – Lowe’s ‘heroine’ is heavily pregnant and is compelled to kill by her unborn child. She directs with verve, aided by Ryan Eddleston’s camera forcing its way into the action and Matteo Bini’s editing.

Revelation of the tragedy at the heart of the film is worked seamlessly into the narrative, the visual image of that tragedy echoing and reflecting in the story’s key metaphor.

Lowe’s Ruth is perhaps not that different to her Tina in Wheatley’s Sightseers, that same doleful expression, that same sense of resignation, but mated to a greater fury.

Men do not fare well in Lowe’s deliciously twisted script, and some suffer much more than others. I shan’t spoil your viewing by revealing their humiliations, at least one of which has not been seen in such detail on film since the days of Video Nasties. This is not a film for those with weak stomachs: you have been warned!
Score: 8/10

UK release date: tbc

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