''Prevenge'' is a 2016 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

written by, directed by and starring Alice Lowe in her

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. The film also stars

Kate Dickie Kate Dickie (born 1971) is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is known for her television roles as Lex in the BBC series '' Tinsel Town'' (2000–2001) and Lysa Arryn in the HBO series '' Game ...

Kayvan Novak Kayvan Novak ( fa, کیوان نواک; born 23 November 1977) is a British actor and comedian.Kadivar, DariuSyriana breaks Iranian stereotypes, ''Persian Mirror''. Retrieved 3 August 2007. He co-created and starred in the comedy series '' Fon ...

Jo Hartley Joanne Victoria Hartley (born 12 March 1972) is an English actress born in Oldham, Lancashire who has appeared in the films ''The Young Victoria'', ''Eddie the Eagle'', ''Slaughterhouse Rulez'' and '' Torvill & Dean'' and in British television ...

Mike Wozniak Michael James Wozniak is a British comedian, writer and actor. He portrays Brian in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Man Down'' and is a member of the team that makes ''Small Scenes'' for BBC Radio 4. Early life Wozniak was born in Oxford, was raised in ...

Gemma Whelan Gemma Elizabeth Whelan (born 23 April 1981) is an English actress and comedian known for portraying Yara Greyjoy in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones''. She also plays Kate in all seasons of the comedy '' Upstart Crow'', Detective ...

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 Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

mainly took place in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in under two weeks, whilst Lowe was herself pregnant. The film was released in cinemas in February 2017. 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 partner 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 *

as the Midwife *

as Len *

as Ella *

as Tom * Tom Davis as DJ Dan *

Dan Renton Skinner Daniel Renton Skinner (born 25 January 1973) is an English actor and comedy writer, working in stage, film and television. Skinner often performs as the character Angelos Epithemiou and is also one half of the Brian and Roger podcast. Early li ...

as Mr Zabek *

as Josh *

Tom Meeten Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Zac *

Eileen Davies Eileen Davies (born 23 September 1948) is an English actress, nominated for ''best supporting actress'' at the British Independent Film Awards 2012 for her performance in the film Sightseers, her roles have included “Flora McArdle” in t ...

as Jill * Della Moon Synnott as Baby

Reception

''Prevenge'' received positive reviews from critics for its blend of black comedy and horror. It holds a "Certified Fresh" rating of on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 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."

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, prevenge 2016 films 2016 horror films 2016 comedy horror films 2016 black comedy films 2016 independent films British independent films British satirical films British slasher films British black comedy films Films shot in Wales British pregnancy films 2016 directorial debut films 2016 comedy films Films shot in Cardiff 2010s English-language films 2010s British films