Prevenge

The film is a precisely crafted black-comic nightmare in a distinctive British tradition, built around a truly extraordinary performance.

A pitch-black, blood-soaked comedy and phenomenal first feature by Alice Lowe, who also stars as Ruth, the pregnant heroine.

If The Boss Baby offered the family-friendly suggestion that having a child is akin to a corporate merger, Alice Lowe's gleefully demented Prevenge makes the far less pacifying argument that carrying one is more like a hostile takeover.

A gonzo idea in search of better execution.

This movie won't be for everybody, but fans of Lowe's prior work should be thrilled to see such a distilled dose of her perverse humor.

Lowe's take on pre- and postnatal depression and the dark side of motherhood is undeniably unique. If nothing else, you've got to respect a woman who will push herself through a doggy door while seven months pregnant for her art.

[Prevenge is] a thought-provoking, visually stunning film with just the right amount of humor to balance out some very gruesome and shocking death scenes.

Prevenge forgoes the traditional pitch of horror-comedies and never mines its kills for laughs. The violence in the film is graphic but never showy, preferring to revel in the awkward muck of bloodletting, the reality of taking a life.

Another storyteller might have designed Prevenge as a more comically-slanted effort, but Lowe has sculpted it to smash taboos and social norms.

Exceptional film, bringing out the best in Lowe, who hopefully has more stories and nightmares to share as she embarks on what's aiming to be a triumphant directorial career.

Lowe's film is hilarious in its skewering of leering men and unsupportive women, but her film also comments on the trials of pregnancy and the often condescending attitude toward the mental competency of expectant mothers.

Alice Lowe evinces a knack for locating society's most awkward pressure points, and a willingness to punch them.

What hoists this bloody battiness above much of the scrappily low-budget horror pack is the smartness of its execution and the strength of the movie's central performance.

Perversely prodding at all that we take for granted about pregnancy, Lowe has found a pitch-black, occasionally profound story about a woman's loss of control over her body and mind, pulled between forces of life and death.

What distinguishes Prevenge from the pack is the unsettling tragedy of Ruth. She's either an unwilling agent of her unborn's malice, or flat-out insane with grief.

A beautifully horrific, pitch-black comedy that perfectly nails the complexities of love, loss, and motherhood, Prevenge is a stunning debut from Lowe, and I hope we get more projects like this from her in the future.

Lowe's film crazily reimagines the abortion debate as one that's out of both men and women's hands; rather, it's the prenatal tyke itself that's both in charge, and has a fondness for bloody butchery.

Lowe has made a spectacular directorial debut in a film that is defiant, disturbing, and darkly hilarious.

Prevenge turns out to be one of the best movies of its kind in quite some time.

As a director, [Alice Lowe], she shows much flair and cunning. Prevenge throbs off the screen thanks to her talent for mischief and bemusement. She herds around a fine comedic cast and maintains vigour between scenes with Toydrum's pummelling soundtrack.

Fresh feminist horror of a very welcome taboo-smashing kind. Nasty, hilarious, outraged and outrageous, and as poignant as it is blackly funny.

Serving as an allegory on post- and antenatal depression, Prevenge is a kaleidoscope of violence and humour, a tense tale that wickedly extracts laughs through the banality of its suburban setting.

Lowe, who reportedly breast-fed and changed nappies in the editing room, [has] proved herself a multitasking mother of invention. I can't wait to see what she creates next.

Sadly, mother-to-be-on-killing-spree Prevenge doesn't live up to expectations.

If metaphors were movies, Alice Lowe's new film would be a masterwork. Instead, it's just smart fun-as well as a promising début.

The film is a precisely crafted black-comic nightmare in a distinctive British tradition, built around a truly extraordinary performance.

A pitch-black, blood-soaked comedy and phenomenal first feature by Alice Lowe, who also stars as Ruth, the pregnant heroine.

If The Boss Baby offered the family-friendly suggestion that having a child is akin to a corporate merger, Alice Lowe's gleefully demented Prevenge makes the far less pacifying argument that carrying one is more like a hostile takeover.

A gonzo idea in search of better execution.

This movie won't be for everybody, but fans of Lowe's prior work should be thrilled to see such a distilled dose of her perverse humor.

Lowe is a more striking and resourceful actor than director, and that's fine. She's clearly a huge talent, and it's encouraging to see her finding her voice so soon, even if it's creepy baby-doll drone.

Prevenge proves that the actress-cum-filmmaker has a sense of cringe comedy that's distinctly her own, and it'll be grand watching a woman continue to bring her own brand of cruel genre toys to a table usually reserved by boys.

Prevenge, like many horror films, is as divisive as it is thoughtful -- no matter where you stand on it. But I assure you, it is one not to be missed. Especially now.

[Prevenge is] a thought-provoking, visually stunning film with just the right amount of humor to balance out some very gruesome and shocking death scenes.

Prevenge forgoes the traditional pitch of horror-comedies and never mines its kills for laughs. The violence in the film is graphic but never showy, preferring to revel in the awkward muck of bloodletting, the reality of taking a life.

Another storyteller might have designed Prevenge as a more comically-slanted effort, but Lowe has sculpted it to smash taboos and social norms.