Rent Prevenge (2016)

Prevenge review by Adrijan Arsovski - Cinema Paradiso

Just when you think you’ve seen (and heard) it all – in comes Prevenge for the surprise: a bizarre comedy/horror/something indie film that makes Tucker and Dale VS Evil seem like your Saturday morning cartoons (if they involved non-murderous hillbillies who end up saving the day for some reason or another when poised against stupidly, accidentally suicidal and horny teens). Well, what Tucker and Dale VS Evil is for slashers, Prevenge is for revenge flicks: a deeply disturbing psychological trauma that somehow, someway, ends up being coincidentally fun full stop.

Prevenge has a simple, but effective premise: a pregnant woman named Ruth (Alice Lowe) is guided by her unborn baby towards heinous crimes that involve murdering people in cold blood. Yes it sounds cheesy and campy, but for some reason it just works. But, what’s even more interesting is the sole making of this film. Alice Lowe used her pregnancy as an inspiration to write, produce, cast, and film this low-budget flick before her real-world baby was introduced to the world. And this baby would have the best story to tell when it grows up (talking about having a creative mother!). In fact, her portrayal of a pregnant character is equal times captivating as is excruciating to watch, and I mean that in the good-est possible way.

The film features silly but believable murders with hilariously awesome set ups (talking about suspense). And all of this happens while the hand of justice nears closer to these bloody affairs, serving as an opposing force to Ruth’s unwarranted behavior. Or is it?

Prevenge ticks all the boxes of a British black humour piece, using its low budget to its advantage and creatively altering clichés that would otherwise hamper the experience in moving forward. What I mean to say by this is Prevenge features excellent cinematography, creatively lit set pieces, unusual score, and a fancy dream sequence that makes the whole difference in the world in regards to filming segments that are out-of-this-world.

Granted, to enjoy Prevenge is to throw all preconceptions of how a movie should look like right out of the window. If your sense of humour gets easily offended by sarcastic remarks, bizarre innuendos, and misogynistic characters such as Tom Davis’ DJ Dan (whose character meets a perfectly palpable poetic justice) – then Prevenge would probably not be your cup of tea. If however, you’re excited by reading all of the above and then some, good news: Prevenge is your cup of tea I guess?

For all intents and purposes, if you want to see something original that defies all movie genres and tries to build a genre on its own – see Prevenge. Go ahead, nobody’s judging you.