Tonight’s 31 nights of Halloween watch was a revisit to a movie I saw in 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival, and thought it was one of the funniest, wildest, craziest things I ever saw at the time, Prevenge written directed and starring Alice Lowe. When I revisited Prevenge tonight on Shudder, I saw a movie that definitely did not bring back the memories of five years ago, it feels heavily edited and changed and doesn’t carry that gore and laughter I remember nonetheless the overall premise and story is still fun.
The movie focuses on Ruth played by Alice Lowe, as she is seven months pregnant and is hearing her fetus, played by Della Moon Synnott, talk to her and convince her to plan murders and take out men mostly. Throughout the film, the fetus keeps talking to her convincing her to take out revenge on anyone who crosses her, even if she doesn’t feel that she is personally being crossed.
What works for the movie is the unique premise of the movie, a possessed, in a sense, fetus controlling its mother from inside her uterus to commit its crimes. The possibility of what this baby can do when it’s brought into the world are endless and the possibilities are terrifying. As the movie progresses the crimes get more sinister, and become more evolved and daring.
Alice Lowe truly shines throughout the movie and her performance delivers the cross between a pregnant woman and a deranged killer. Just the memory that I have from 2016 of this movie, and remembering more violence and laughter, this re-edited version of the film definitely appears to be something different. The film is still worth a visit as the premise delivers on the insanity, just doesn’t deliver on what was originally presented. Prevenge was insane, over the top, packed with laughter, and this version definitely lacks some of the charm and entertainment of the film I originally saw.
Crave Factor – 6/10
