The Loved Ones: Psycho in Pink
It all started with the vision of a kid in a bloody tuxedo, tied to a chair. Who is this kid? How did he get here? Who’s done this to him? And most importantly, how is he going to get out? Miguel Gonzalez talked to the creators of The Loved Ones to find the answers.
Knowing horror is a popular genre, Tasmanian writer/director Sean Byrne saw an opportunity to create his first feature– if only he could find a point of difference that would make him stand out from the pack; from the countless generic horror films saturating the market. His inspiration came from classics such as Carrie and The Evil Dead, taking the prom sub-genre into a cabin in the woods, and turning prom rituals like the dancing and the crowning of the king and queen
into the actual instruments of torture. Byrne then had the tuxedo vision described above and the story evolved from there: that of a young man (Xavier Samuel), struggling with an enormous guilt over the death of his father in a car accident, who suddenly finds himself in a nightmarish and bloody “date” with the girl (Robin McLeavy) whose invitation to a school dance he’d turned down earlier that day.
“I don’t think The Loved Ones would exist without the horror films of the 70s and 80s,” admitted Byrne. “When you first start developing your style, it’s the imagery you had as a kid, those early films that really leave an impression. I remember when I was too young and naive to realise that the killer would just keep getting up again and again!”
Another element Byrne tried to rescue from that era was its sense of fun and “unpredictable cinematic madness”, which has become rare in the industry. “There is a real sense of risk aversion and you end
up getting films that are clones of each other, which is very disappointing and not particular commercial, because people want to feel comfortable within the genre, but they also want to be taken places they haven’t been taken before. Who wants to pay for a ride they’ve already been on a thousand times before?” said Byrne.
The script had to communicate very effectively the intentions and emotions the actors would have to portray, sometimes through screams. It also had to define the right tone.
“It has a delicate tone, mixing black comedy with extreme violence and a John Hughes kind of approach. Mixing those elements is quite difficult,” explained Byrne.
Creatively, says Byrne, there is room for a prequel – dealing with the back story of ‘Princess’ and ‘Daddy’. But for that to happen, he would have to retain a certain creative control of his characters: “I’d always want to make sure that I was involved in some way.”
LOOKING FOR FINANCIAL LOVE
US-born producer and Screen Australia investment manager Mark Lazarus was looking for a horror film, and got Byrne’s script through agent Anthony Blair. He read it while waiting at a doctor’s office, and decided to option it immediately.
Lazarus says he was lucky because although The Loved Ones was to be Byrne’s feature debut, his awardwinning shorts – such as 2001’s Ben – had already proven his taste and talent. During the financing stage, Byrne also made a supernatural tennis-themed horror short that screened at Sundance, Advantage (written by Rob Beamish).
“It was a real benefit to go out into the financing environment with a Sundance director; someone who actually had brought the goodies home and made a short in the genre in which he wanted to work,” said Lazarus.
“It worked as a dress rehearsal,” added Byrne. “It was tonally quite similar, and an indicator of the look of The Loved Ones That made investors comfortable.”
The budget – “less than $4m” according to Lazarus – was raised by combining funds from Screen Australia, Film Victoria, the MIFF Premiere Fund, Omnilab Media, sales agent Darclight and distributor Madman.
“Financing films is agony. If you have no stars, it takes a long time and eventually someone somewhere has to come on board and take a real risk. Having won the prizes it’s won and having played all over the planet so successfully, it’s clear that Sean was right and the film was worth making,” said Lazarus.
LICK THE SCREEN
Byrne wanted the film to look like “a candy coloured nightmare, between Jerry Bruckheimer and David Lynch”. Shooting 35mm was prohibitive, and along with DOP Simon Chapman, he chose the Red One camera because it could replicate a clean, glossy look “better than any other camera at the time”.
“We couldn’t shoot Super 16 because we couldn’t have any grain for this project. It’s a very demented fairy tale, and there’s a certain heightened element to it that needs that kind of glossiness and unreality,” explained Byrne. “I wanted that look that makes you feel like you want to jump out of your cinema screen and lick the screen; that’s a big part of my aesthetics.
The Loved Ones was shot in Victoria over five weeks and two days – the farmhouse exteriors at Mount Cottrell, the country scenes in Kyneton, and all interiors at Bradmill Studios in Yarraville.
“[Production designer] Robert Webb and Chapman did an amazing job in ensuring that even though 50 percent of the film takes place in one room, it never feels like the plan is repeated,” said Byrne.
Most effects were practical, combined with small CGI details – created by Iloura – such as the power drill that comes dangerously close to the protagonist’s forehead.
The grading was done by Deidre McClelland at Digital Pictures, with tones that range from an bright pink to intense black and ultimately, a powerful blue – all of them related to the hero’s point of view and the power shifts that take place in the story.
Byrne was wise enough not to extend the film beyond the natural duration of his story, at 80 minutes: “There’s an obsession with bigger being better. As a member of the audience I detest getting a sore
backside, and if the film’s not constantly moving, the filmmaker is not doing their job. To get our rollercoaster working, we couldn’t afford to waste a second. We didn’t want to be indulgent in any way; I wanted the film to be a shot of adrenalin,” explained Byrne.
During post, the distributor played an important role. Feedback from Madman co-founder Paul Wiegard and manager for theatrical distribution James Hewison on an early cut of the film – “longer, and it took itself too seriously,” said Lazarus – helped transform it into an audience pleaser.
Domestic and overseas audiences have openly expressed their admiration for the film in the main online film and horror discussion forums, and after successful screenings at international festivals (including Toronto, Austin, Melbourne and Sydney, among others) and many delays, Madman will release the film on November 4. At press time the plan was to open with approximately 80 prints. A US deal has not been finalised, but Lazarus’ plans for that territory are ambitious: “We’ve seen it play and we know the film has a chance to satisfy wide audiences. We’ve had more interest from North America than I could possibly say; we’re working on a deal which we hope will be of a significant size, to have it distributed as a mainstream picture.
“It’s taking its time, that’s true, but you can’t compare it to arthouse films with a smaller release. We’re trying to go big. The 2005 Wolf Creek world is gone; as great a film as Wolf Creek is, it wouldn’t get the kind of deal it got with the Weinsteins if it was to come out now. The world turns, things change, and I’m the first person to talk about how difficult the economy is,” said Lazarus.
