Blu-ray Review: Prevenge – “It’s bloody, it’s funny, it’s completely and utterly bonkers”

Alice Lowe writes, directs and stars in this delightfully horrific tale of a pregnant woman on a murderous rampage after her baby’s father is killed in a climbing accident and she decides to kill off everyone she holds responsible for his death.

It’s bloody, it’s funny, it’s completely and utterly bonkers.

Prevenge keeps the pace going in an alarmingly eery manner by jumping between the painfully mundane to the shocking and violent. Conversations are often a little cringey and awkward. However, Lowe might just be one of the most brilliantly expressive actresses working today. Her face remains so still for much of the film meaning that when she does ‘let go’ it’s really quite shocking and entirely awesome to watch. Ruth (Lowe) is so controlled, so pragmatic, right up until the moment she gets the knife out.

Unlike Sightseers, the balance in Prevenge is firmly weighted on the violence and horror side. There is humour to be found, sure, but this is not nearly as comedic as Lowe’s other outings. It’s a much darker story of unchecked grief and what can happen when a person goes through a huge crisis without anyone around to help keep them sane. It’s actually really nasty in parts and sometimes upsetting. And in amongst all this horror, there are sporadic check-ups at the hospital to make sure her baby is still OK.

It might also be worth noting – for my fellow bug-a-phobes out there – that for a film so full of bloodshed and violence, the scene many viewers might have the biggest problem with (if they’re anything like me) is the opener. Ruth begins her murderous saga in a pet shop. But there are no cute and fluffy puppies here, just enormous tarantulas and creepy snakes. The whole scene had me so on edge that when the murder happened it wasn’t that big a leap to the shocked reaction. I was already an anxiety-ridden mess.

The shocks just keep coming, too, as this story builds to its dramatic finale (and a look that will surely become a firm favourite amongst Halloween fans – especially any pregnant ones!).

Lowe has proven, once again, that both her dry British wit and her imagination know no bounds. Not even a little thing like being heavily pregnant could slow her down and we’re so, so grateful for that.

Prevenge is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 5th June 2017.