Horror Movie Review: Prevenge (2017)

“Baby knows what to do, baby will tell you what to do. It’s just nature’s way.”

“I think nature’s a bit of an arse though, don’t you?”

Prevenge is a 2016 British comedy slasher film written by, directed by and starring Alice Lowe in her directorial debut. The majority of Prevenge was filmed in Cardiff in less than two weeks whilst Alice Lowe was really pregnant.

Ruth is 7 months pregnant and her partner who should be with her through all this is dead. This is every pregnant woman’s nightmare. On top of mood swings, nausea and struggling to roll over in bed; Ruth now must deal with something far worse. Grief…and a murderous foetus telling her to kill those responsible.

During the course of Prevenge we see a mystery unfold before our eyes. As Ruth murders each person we wonder why. Each time she ends another life Ruth takes on a different persona. She uses the idea that no one ever suspects a pregnant woman could be evil. Slitting a pet shop owners’ throat and stabbing a DJ in the balls, all while trying to attend enough hospital appointments to keep her midwife at bay.

Unfortunately, Ruth doesn’t have control. Or at least she doesn’t feel she does. She imagines her unborn baby inside her is talking to her, coercing her into each murder. Every person seemingly has nothing to live for, according to the foetus. They all have no children, no partners and solely focus on their jobs. It’s revealed why that’s important, as it turns out all the victims were actually the reason why Ruth’s partner died.

He was part of a climbing accident and they were all on his team. Unfortunately, he was chosen to be cut loose from the rope to save the rest. That’s why the “baby” concludes the other people are worthless. Her partner was going to be a father and raise a family, but the other people had nothing else in their lives but themselves.

The story comes to a head when Ruth is preparing for her final showdown. Tom, he was the instructor for the climb. It was his call to cut the rope and the rest of the team just agreed as he was in charge. On social media, Tom has posted he’ll be at a Halloween party. So, Ruth gets ready and paints her face; ready to end it.

Reading that Alice Lowe wrote, starred and directed the whole movie while she was heavily pregnant astounded me. I could barely keep my eyes open when I was that far gone and the most strenuous task I accomplished was making a sandwich. I don’t know how she did it but she definitely deserves a very long nap after such hard work. The same can be said for her character, Ruth. A homicidal rampage at 7 months pregnant… It must have been exhausting!

Prevenge is listed as a comedy slasher and as much as some moments were funny, I mostly found this film sad. Especially the ending… It’s a difficult film for me not to take seriously due to the subject matter and my personal experiences. Overall, a good film to watch if you’re pregnant or have children. If not, you’ll most likely get angry at the “baby’s” opinion on the victims. Plus, the idea of being taken hostage and it not being your body anymore would be lost on anyone who’s not been there themselves.