Canada, 2024
Review:JA Kerswell
A slasher black comedy that provides a fresh twist on townies vs hillbillies tropes. A suburban family on holiday in an RV reluctantly take refuge with a family at their home deep in the middle of nowhere. Cannibalism, all-out war and even a little romance ensue. Well acted and benefiting from some clever dialogue, this hits the right notes on both the grue and the laughs.
College student Amy (Amanda Fix) would rather be anywhere right now than stuck with her parents (Matthew MacCaull and Elyse Levesque) and her younger brother (Josh Zaharia) in their grandfather’s clapped-out old RV on a chilly road trip from LA through some Southern US State or other. The tedium and pep talks are interrupted when two insect munching good ol’ boys (Richard Harmon and Ben Sullivan) turn up looking for a man called Melior (Todd Masters), who we see murdered by a mystery assailant in the opening scene. When the men’s truck breaks down, they persuade the family, against their better judgment, to give one of them a lift back to their farmstead to get help.
When they reach the remote house, they are welcomed by Neville (Kevin McNulty) and his two daughters, Savannah (Brenna Llewellyn) and Juli Ann (Cassandra Sawtell), who invite them to stay for dinner and shelter for the night. However, not all is as it seems, and few will live to see morning …
LOWLIFES has received quite the buzz since its release, and it is easy to see why. The film takes the well-worn formula of pitting urbanites and country folk against each other, but with a twist. It isn’t one that I will spoil here (although it happens within the first 15 minutes and is one it partially shares with another slasher comedy released the same year). Most seasoned horror movie viewers will guess what is going on pretty quickly, but I don’t want to spoil the fun. Also, it’s not the only trick the film has up its sleeve. Where the film really confounds expectations is the shifting sands between villain and hero. Put it this way, not everyone is consistently on the same page; it is refreshing to see such nuances in what, on the surface, is a gross-out horror comedy (although it doesn’t skimp on the red stuff, either). Clearly, it owes a debt to Tobe Hooper’s original THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974) via the 2010 horror comedy TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL. However, it purposefully plays with audience expectations to great effect.
The dialogue by Al Kaplan is often genuinely pretty funny in places, and the film rarely tips into farce. The comedy tends to come from the inversion of accepted family values and the fact that even the insane can get caught up in petty moral outrage over societal conventions. The film adds complexity and interest by the inclusion of a subplot around a burgeoning romance between the two adult daughters from each family, which only furthers to complicate matters and perhaps gives the film a poignancy it might otherwise be missing.
LOWLIFES continues in the grand tradition of a Canadian slasher production passing itself off as a North American one (it was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia). It is directed by Mitch Oliver and Tesh Guttikonda (who helmed the entertainingly twisted INFLUENCER (2022)). Perhaps some might dismiss its ‘Tubi Original’ tag, which would be a mistake (and was likely a pick up of an independent production anyway). It is a fresh take on well-trodden ground and is well worth a look.
BODY COUNT 11:
Female 4 / Male 7
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LOWLIFES trailer