The Loved Ones (2009): Love Hurts, Apparently With Power Tools

3 out of 5.

Spoilers below, including the ending and the family connections.

The Loved Ones is gory, uncomfortable, and very committed to being both. It is also a quality Australian horror movie with a deranged central performance, strong visual flair, and some particularly unnerving sound work. I do not see nearly enough Australian movies, especially horror, so this was a fun addition to Spooktober.

It fits my Love Hurts theme nicely alongside my other selection, May (2002). There is plenty of love here. Very little of it is doing anyone much good.

A family affair, unfortunately

My favorite part was how the different families fit together: some coming together, some falling apart, and one becoming a particularly twisted nightmare. The incestuous undertones were deeply uncomfortable, as was the question of how this father and daughter ended up like this.

At times, it felt as though the daughter might have pushed her father toward being even crazier. I liked that uncertainty. Where did this start? Who is encouraging whom? The movie gives you enough to wonder without making that family any less unpleasant to spend time with.

Robin McLeavy deserves major kudos as Lola. She is completely deranged, and the performance is a big part of what makes the whole thing work. This is not a movie that benefits from restraint in its central villain, and she does not hold back.

Gore you can practically hear

The gore is top-notch, and the makeup is outstanding: heavy, excessive, and completely over the top. There is a strong visual personality to the film that keeps it interesting rather than making it feel like just another exercise in hurting people.

The sound design and foley deserve particular credit. I kept hearing what sounded like layers of screams worked into other sounds, making already unpleasant moments even more unnerving. Whether or not that was exactly how those effects were built, that was the impression they left on me. The music was fun, too—a welcome part of the film’s very strange personality.

About the best friend and the goth girl

I enjoyed the best friend, Jamie. He was very entertaining. I was less convinced by what the movie wanted to do with his side story and Mia, the goth girl.

I appreciate that the film tries to connect her story to everything else at the end. It is not simply an unrelated prom-night diversion. But the connection still felt a little weak, and I wanted another scene with the two of them. By the end, she has lost her father after already losing her brother. That is a lot to leave hanging while the main story wraps up.

I did not need a long explanation or a separate ending for everybody. Just a little more closure might have made that subplot feel more worthwhile.

A solid ending, if a little abrupt

The main story is fairly simple and wraps up neatly. The ending was good enough, and it was a solid place to stop, even if the stop felt abrupt. I can appreciate a horror movie keeping things short and to the point rather than dragging out its farewell.

Still, my questions mostly belonged to the people left around the edges. I wanted to see Jamie and Mia again, or at least feel a little more settled about where their story landed.

Overall, I liked it. The family themes, McLeavy’s performance, the makeup, and that nasty sound work give it plenty of character. Not every thread came together as strongly as I wanted, but it was a distinctive, very uncomfortable fit for Love Hurts.

Final rating: 3/5.

AI editing disclosure

This review was heavily AI-edited using OpenAI gpt-6.1-sol through Hermes Agent. The opinions and rating come from my spoken notes; the model organized and edited them into this draft.