Australian horror film The Loved Ones made its debut in its home country back in 2010, having spent much of that year and half of the year before touring film festivals and getting a great reception, winning the Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award back in 2009.
Written and directed by Sean Byrne, The Loved Ones is led by Robin McLeavy, Xavier Samuel, and John Brumpton, the film has already been released (straight to DVD/Blu-Ray) here in the UK at the end of 2010, but is only now set to be released in the US this year, this coming June.
In promotion of its American release, ComingSoon.net have a brilliant teaser trailer for the film, and IMDb have a brand new poster to go alongside it. I have to admit, I hadn’t heard of the film before, but seeing these definitely makes me want to look into it.
“To avoid a ghostly figure in the road, high-school senior Brent Mitchell crashes into a tree, killing his father. Confronted by his mother’s emotional breakdown after the accident, Brent escapes his guilt by sinking into a marijuana-fuelled world of loud metal music. His only shot at happiness is with his girlfriend Holly, an attractive and caring girl who would be a dream date for the high-school prom. But his plans are thwarted by a disturbing series of events that result in Brent being the prom king at a macabre, sadistic event where he is the entertainment.”
Craig caught the film at FanTasia 2010 and really recommends it – you can read his review of the film here – and had the chance to interview leading lady Robin McLeavy as well – which you can read in full here.
According to ComingSoon.net, the US release of the film is set to be a bit different to most, taking an innovative strategy, with Paramount’s Insurge Pictures announcing earlier this month that they’ll be offering fans the choice to book a screening at their local cinema and invite friends to come along too.
If you’re reading this in the UK, The Loved Ones is available now on DVD and Blu-Ray through all the usual places (HMV, Play, and Amazon all have the Blu-Ray for £6.99, and the latter two have the DVD for £5). And if you’re reading this in the US, then you can sign up here to get the information about booking the film in a cinema near you.
For now, here’s the great teaser trailer for the film to enjoy, followed by the new poster, and I’ve added the original poster beneath that too. As usual with the images, you can click to enlarge.
