Storyline
Widow Ruth is seven months pregnant when, believing herself to be guided by her unborn baby, she embarks on a homicidal rampage, dispatching anyone who stands in her way.
Cast: Jo Hartley -
Midwife
Gemma Whelan -
Len
Alice Lowe -
Ruth
Kate Dickie -
Ella
Tom Davis -
DJ Dan
Kayvan Novak -
Tom
Grace Calder -
Yoga Instructor
Mike Wozniak -
Josh
Eileen Davies -
Jill
Sara Dee -
Catwoman
Dan Renton Skinner -
Mr. Zabek
Tom Meeten -
Zac
Leila Hoffman -
Dan's Mum
Della Moon Synnott -
Baby
Marc Bessant -
Matt
Country: UK
Language: English
Release Date: 3 Jan 2016
Filming Locations: Cardiff, Wales, UK
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Alice Lowe was seven months pregnant for the duration of the filming. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 8/10
The three Greek Furies that feature prominently in the 1934 Noirish
movie, Crime Without Passion, are the central metaphor in Alice Lowe's
extraordinarily dark Prevenge, billed as the world's first pregnant,
slasher, comedy, horror movie.
In it, Alice Lowe's character, Ruth, embarks on a revenge murder spree
goaded on by her helium-voiced, gestating baby.
It takes her to Wales and, in one breathtaking scene, the streets of
Cardiff on Halloween night where she claims she almost needed
protection from the boozed-up locals in a sequence reminiscent of
Scarlett Johnassonn's Under The Skin street walk in Glasgow.
The reason for her bloody revenge spree is only revealed in drips (so I
won't spoil it - like a preview I read before the screening did for me)
which adds greatly to the narrative tension.
The making of this low budget Film Four offering is remarkable. Lowe
was offered development money and finding herself pregnant used her
condition to inspire this blackest of black script. She then wrote,
produced, cast and filmed (in 11 days) the whole affair before her baby
arrived.
Seeing an actor perform whilst heavily pregnant, and genuinely playing
a pregnant character, is a rarity (my only recollection is Frances
McDormand in Fargo) and Lowe certainly makes the most of the
opportunity. Shooting took place in her late third Trimester.
The Furies are the ultimate avenging angels and she uses the
extraordinary scenes from Crime Without Passion to symbolise her quest
for justice, viewing the movie from the comfort of her hotel room where
she takes respite, despite noisily bonking near neighbours, from her
exhausting killings.
The killings themselves are simple but bloody affairs and each has
hilarious set ups. Can she complete her task before the long arm of the
law catches up on her careful forensic clean ups? You'll have to see it
to find out.
This is classic British black comedy at its best. Using its low budget
as a virtue but still making some moments of genuinely great
cinematography, most notably in an exotic pet shop and a beautiful full
facial dream sequence in a yoga class.
It has echoes of Mike Leigh's early work and Ben Wheatley's Sightseers
is an obvious reference point. Obvious because Lowe is its co-star and
it too shares a murderous plot line.
But, comparisons aside, this is an entirely original take on several
genres that does its damnedest to create a genre of its own.
Whether there's room for thousands of pregnant, slasher, comedy, horror
movies is debatable.
So we'll just have to agree on one thing. The original and best.
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