Prevenge

{{Infobox film

| name = Prevenge

| image = Prevenge poster.png

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Alice Lowe

| producer = {{ubl|Alice Lowe|Vaughn Sivell|Jennifer Handorf|Will Kane}}

| writer = Alice Lowe

| screenplay =

| starring = {{ubl|Alice Lowe|Kate Dickie|Kayvan Novak|Jo Hartley|Gemma Whelan|Tom Davis|Dan Renton Skinner|Mike Wozniak|Tom Meeten}}

| music = Toydrum

| cinematography = Ryan Eddleston

| editing = Matteo Bini

| studio = {{plainlist|

Western Edge Pictures
Gennaker Group
Ffilm Cymru Wales

}}

| distributor = Kaleidoscope Entertainment{{cite web|last1=Grater|first1=Tom|title=Kaleidoscope swoops for comedy-horror 'Prevenge'|url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/kaleidoscope-swoops-for-comedy-horror-prevenge/5109174.article |work=Screen Daily |accessdate=20 December 2016|date=8 September 2016}}

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2016|5|15|Cannes|ref1={{cite web|title=Goes to Cannes 2016|url=http://www.marchedufilm.com/uploads/gtc2016.pdf |work=Marché du Film |accessdate=21 December 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221235417/http://www.marchedufilm.com/uploads/gtc2016.pdf |archivedate=21 December 2016}}|2017|2|10|United Kingdom}}

| runtime = 87 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget = £80,000

| gross = $94,100

}}

Prevenge is a 2016 British comedy slasher film written by, directed by and starring Alice Lowe in her directorial debut. The film also stars Kate Dickie, Kayvan Novak, Jo Hartley, Mike Wozniak, Gemma Whelan and Tom Davis. The plot follows a pregnant widow who is convinced her foetus is compelling her to embark on a killing spree as revenge for the death of her husband.

Principal photography mainly took place in Cardiff in under two weeks, whilst Lowe was herself pregnant.{{cite web |url=https://www.raisingfilms.com/prevenge-alice-lowe-on-murder-cardiff-making-a-human/ |title=Prevenge: Alice Lowe on Murder, Cardiff & Making a Human |work=Raising Films |date=22 February 2016 |accessdate=28 February 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.sainou.com/leila-hoffman-prevenge/ |title=Leila Hoffman stars in the new British comedy slasher film Prevenge |work=Sainou Talent Agency |accessdate=28 February 2017}} The film was released in cinemas in February 2017.{{cite news|last1=Bradshaw|first1=Peter|title=Prevenge review – a mother of a serial-killer film|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/01/prevenge-review-alice-lowe-mother-of-a-serial-killer-film|newspaper=The Guardian |accessdate=20 December 2016|date=1 September 2016}} Before the film was released, Lowe gave birth to a baby girl, Della, who was able to portray Ruth’s newborn in the film, at 10 days old.

Plot

After her husband dies in a climbing accident when he was cut loose by the rest of his group, Ruth, now heavily pregnant, becomes convinced that her foetus is compelling her to murder and she tracks down the other people who were involved in the climbing accident for revenge. Her first victim is the owner of a reptile shop, whom she kills by slitting his throat. When her midwife tells her that the baby will let her know what’s good for her, Ruth reveals that she thinks that her baby is already telling her what to do. Between several midwife appointments, Ruth kills people. On one of her last attempts to murder, Ruth suffers a life-threatening emergency regarding her baby. Her baby thus is delivered quickly via emergency caesarean section. Several days after the surgery, Ruth is quite depressed but soon realises that her baby is just a normal baby girl, not a psychopathic baby. The midwife tried to reassure Ruth that everything is going to be okay, and goes off to get the health assistant to help Ruth with her feelings. Ruth takes this time to kiss her baby goodbye and go off to the cliffs to kill one last time.

Cast

Alice Lowe as Ruth
Jo Hartley as the Midwife
Gemma Whelan as Len
Kate Dickie as Ella
Kayvan Novak as Tom
Tom Davis as DJ Dan
Dan Renton Skinner as Mr Zabek
Mike Wozniak as Josh
Tom Meeten as Zac
Eileen Davies as Jill
Della Moon Synnott as Baby

Reception

Prevenge received positive reviews for its blend of black comedy and horror. It holds a rating of {{RT data|score}} on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/prevenge|title=Prevenge|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}} The site's consensus reads, "As ambitious as it is daringly transgressive, Prevenge should thrill fans of pitch black horror comedy - and open untold opportunities for writer/director/star Alice Lowe." {{Metacritic film prose|71|20|access-date=January 20, 2025}}{{Cite Metacritic |title=Prevenge |id= prevenge |type=movie |access-date=January 20, 2025}}

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four out of five, calling it "gruesomely successful".{{cite web|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|authorlink=Peter Bradshaw|title=Prevenge review – a mother of a serial-killer film|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/01/prevenge-review-alice-lowe-mother-of-a-serial-killer-film|website=The Guardian|date=1 September 2016|access-date=28 October 2023}} Mark Kermode, also for The Guardian, gave the film four out five and called it an "impressively peculiar film".{{cite web|last=Kermode|first=Mark|title=Prevenge review – audacious horror from a mother of invention|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/12/prevenge-review-alice-lowe-sightseers|website=The Guardian|date=12 February 2017|access-date=28 October 2023}}

Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times calling the film "a brilliantly conceived meditation on prepartum anxiety and extreme grief".{{cite news|last=Catsoulis|first=Jeanette|title=Review: 'Prevenge,' Orchestrated by a Fiendish Fetus|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/movies/prevenge-review.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324170613/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/movies/prevenge-review.html|archivedate=24 March 2017 |date=22 March 2017|access-date=28 October 2023}} Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "a scrappy but excitingly singular directorial debut".{{cite web|last=Lodge|first=Guy|title=Film Review: 'Prevenge'|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/prevenge-review-1201849192/#!|website=Variety|date=31 August 2016|access-date=28 October 2023}} David Ehrlich of IndieWire who gave the film a B− but felt the film could have used more time "in utero".{{cite web|last=Ehrlich|first=David|title='Prevenge' Review: A Wicked Slasher About A Killer Fetus, Starring A Very Pregnant Alice Lowe|url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/prevenge-review-alice-lowe-pregnant-fetus-horror-1201796362/|website=IndieWire|date=23 March 2017|access-date=28 October 2023}}

Less effusive was Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film one and a half, saying that it is "a gonzo idea in search of better execution".{{cite web|last=Abrams|first=Simon|title=Prevenge|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/prevenge-2017|website=RogerEbert.com|date=24 March 2017|access-date=28 October 2023}}

Accolades

class="wikitable"

! Award

! Date

! Category

! Recipients and nominees

! Result

British Independent Film Awards

|4 December 2016

|The Douglas Hickox Award

|Alice Lowe

|{{nom}}

Monster Fest

|29 November 2016

|Monster Innovation Award

|Alice Lowe

|{{won}}{{cite web|title=MONSTER FEST Announces 2016 Award Winners |url=http://monsterfest.com.au/2016/monster-fest-announces-2016-award-winners/|website=Monster Fest 2016|accessdate=21 December 2016|date=29 November 2016}}