“She can make these movies until the cows come home, before slaughtering them for a barbecue without a hint of irony but plenty of bloody ketchup”

 

Prevenge – Directed by and starring Alice Lowe

Cert: 15 – 1 hr 28 – Comedy, Drama, Horror Fantasy

Alice Lowe is in charge of this movie – not only the writer and director, but playing the main character, Ruth, too. And she’s in every scene. But this film is more than an ego project. It’s witty, thought-provoking and disturbing, albeit falling a little short.

 

Ruth has been recently widowed and is seven months pregnant and alone in the world. Bitterness and grief fill her every moment. But there is also the voice of her unborn daughter, urging her to kill. Ruth’s homicidal journey, dispatching in horrific detail, a collection of misfits leads inevitably to the birth of the baby. Can there be a redemption? Is Ruth genuinely possessed or merely suffering a form of antenatal psychosis?

 

[Alice Lowe as Ruth]

 

Alice Lowe has risen through the ranks of radio and television comedy, specialising in sketches and dark humour. Crossing into films, in 2012 she co-wrote and starred in the cult hit Sightseers, before co-starring in Black Mountain Poets in 2015.

 

This is where I begin to have problems with Prevenge. I can look at stills from all these movies and see Alice playing the same deadpan, out-of-sync character. Prevenge does nothing new. It is undoubtedly a well made film. The cast are strong. The script succeeds in escorting me all the way to the predictable finale. But there is no originality here. No heart or joy. Cardiff and the Welsh coast appear grim and dirty. As I do when I leave the screening.

 

[Alice Lowe as Ruth in fancy dress]

 

I feel Alice is ticking boxes. She can make these movies until the cows come home, before slaughtering them for a barbecue without a hint of irony but plenty of bloody ketchup. She is better than this and I hope she can make the leap.

 

Prevenge is sitting uncomfortably between genres, not sure of the style it’s aiming for. Instead, it settles into a collection of macabre sketches. However, the film will make some people laugh a lot and they will enjoy the horror, too. Just as Alice shows in so many of the scenes – people are weird…

 

Review by Paul Vates.

 

Prevenge is on general release from February 9th.