For whatever reason, Shudder uploaded a bunch of Australian horror movies about a month ago.  I’ve watched a few of them (like Coda, 1987).  That brought to mind the classic episode of The Simpsons where the family goes to Australia so Bart can apologize for a prank phone call:

Well, that brought to mind another Australian flick I watched recently, The Loved Ones (2009).  I would really classify this flick as a “dark comedy,” but it made for a compelling watch.

The Loved Ones is something like Superbad (2007) meets Taken (2009), without Liam Neeson.  The main character, Brent, is a troubled teen whose dad died in a car accident a year earlier, and he has a chubby stoner friend (the chubby stoner friend improbably gets with the traumatized but super hot Goth chick, by the way).  Brent was driving at the time of the accident, swerving to avoid a bloodied man who appeared in the road.

Naturally, young Brent is racked with guilt and depression, although he manages to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend.  Things at home are not so easy, as his mom struggles with the death of her husband, and Brent is a typical troubled teen—running around town, being avoidant, hanging out at a quarry.  It is at the quarry that Brent is kidnapped.

Brent’s kidnapper is Lola, a girl who asked him to the spring dance (or whatever they call “prom” in Australia).  Brent politely declined, of course, because he already had a girlfriend, but Lola wasn’t willing to take no for an answer.  The Loved Ones is more than just a case of one chick losing it, though; instead, her very father is in on the scheme, a case of wanting to give his daughter what she wants so badly, he resorts to kidnapping—and murder.

The movie is then a gruesome struggle for survival as Brent attempts to escape from the deadly, weird pair.  Meanwhile, his girlfriend and mom are worried sick, and his best friend is having the time of his life with the Goth chick.

I’ll let you watch it to figure out how it all ends, but it was an enjoyable ride and had enough humorous and shocking moments to hold my interest.  If you’re into slash-esque films and tongue-in-cheek gallows humor dressed up in early 2000s digs, check it out.