labng We horror fans get used to sitting through a lot of stinkers to find a few goodies every so often. I don't know why I hadn't heard of this one before. Maybe it's because I'm the only person in my group of friends who actually digs horror. The acting is good and the characters are as quirky and intense as they should be. There are some very cringey moments and inappropriate laughs. I quite enjoyed it.

WELTERWILL So well acted, directed, and composed. This film has a campy feel and an experts touch. Haunts you emotionally, thrills you with sadistic gore and torture, and sticks with you when it's over. Sean Byrne was well prepared for this to be his first full length picture. Was very surprised I missed this one 8 years ago. Not going to give away a single scene here, just my opinion. This movie, in a nutshell, is about dealing with trauma and loss. There are scenes that take me back to campy teen flicks from my teens and of the past ten years, but the meat of the story is the kidnapping, torture, shocking and hard to watch material, and the insanely brilliant performance by Robin McLeavy. Definitely worth an hour and 24 minutes of your time when you want to get into a good horror movie.

lukehammen I really do hope someone had as much fun making this, as I did watching it. The loved ones puts it's own spin on the teen horror cliché that has been made over and over again in the last fifteen years. From the moment the film begins, it only tells what you need to know; instead of dwelling on the characters relationships that are really just factors in the movie's later overall presentation. It does come to a rough start, however. Nothing that will take more than ten minutes of screen-time, but some segments regarding prom are unnecessary to say at the least (the best friend). Once it takes off, The loved ones is a triumph for it's genre. A horror movie can only be as good, if it's still a good movie when you're not scared. In this particular instance I was not, but instead I was baffled at the horror I was presented. The loved ones treats it's lead, Brent, as the source of the story; you the viewer sees what Brent sees, and that's where the story comes into it's own. It's fun, self-aware, and in some of it's best minutes of screen time, it was realistic. I give it a 8.6, rounding to a 9.

paul545 I don't remember the last time I've felt so intensely while watching a movie. Pain, fear, horror, anguish,disgust, anger, suspense - everything you'd hope for in a horror movie is there. The acting is superb, the characters are all believable. Just wait until you witness the two main villains interacting with each other. It's so f******* creepy, and it succeeds because you can believe in their performances. The two are seriously the creepiest, most frightening, most disturbing and disgusting villains I can recall. The violence - Oh my god. I'm not sensitive to violence at all, but I was squirming throughout this film. They do a really good job with it, and the lead does a great job with displays of pain and suffering. And a really nice touch, is that everything adds up in the end, some minor plot points are tied up, which gives the story a nice bit of closure. There is one slight plot hole with the cop (I won't tell you what it is - you might not even notice), but it barely detracts from the story and certainly doesn't even come close to ruining any of it. Edit: I forgot to mention the soundtrack, which is incredible. Songs perfectly to the scene, whether they be angry or deceptively, sickly pretty. If you can handle an unbelievably brutal movie - then watch this and love it.