Pregnant Woman Deals With Fears and Grief in Gory Horror ‘Prevenge’

Sandra Miska

A serial killer driven to murder by a disembodied voice could be considered somewhat of a horror movie cliché, but in the British film “Prevenge,” heroine Ruth’s (Alice Lowe) orders to murder come from an unlikely source: her unborn child. Lowe, who also wrote and directed the film, was actually pregnant during filming, adding some authenticity to this gory and darkly comedic film.

“Prevenge” begins innocently enough, with a visibly pregnant Ruth entering a pet store to purchase a snake for an unseen child. Things take a sharp turn after she uses a knife to slit the owner’s (Dan Renton Skinner) throat. Her next target is the pathetic DJ Dan (Tom Davis), a “ladies man” who is unfortunate enough to bring her back to his place. Instead of having sex with him, she cuts him deeply where it would hurt the most in the film’s most unflinchingly gruesome scene. In a humorous twist – one of several in this movie – she afterward tucks the man’s elderly mother (Leila Hoffman) into bed.
Despite her satisfying takedown of a misogynist, Ruth isn’t one of those female serial killers who only targets men. Other victims include a discriminatory businesswoman and a rude fitness freak, played by “Game of Thrones” actresses Kate Dickie and Gemma Whelan, respectively. Lowe plays around with some romantic comedy tropes by when Ruth has a meet-cute with nice guy Josh (Mike Wozniak), only to have her dispose of him after he’s unfortunate enough to witness her kill someone. This is particularly difficult for her, as it’s not that easy for a pregnant single mom-to-be to find a date.

As it turns out, Ruth’s baby isn’t picking these victims at random: certain people were involved in the death of Ruth’s lover, the father of the unborn child. The last person on the kill list is the man whom she (and the baby) feels is the most responsible for her partner’s untimely demise, Tom (Kayvan Novak). She gets all made-up to take him down at a Halloween party – only to discover something personal about him that causes her to hesitate, despite her baby’s urging her to “finish the job.”

For all its blood and gore, “Prevenge” is more than just another slasher flick. It explores very real fears pregnant women face. Sure, most of them aren’t driven to murder sprees, but they do have to deal with a loss of autonomy during nine months of pregnancy, not to mention the loss of particular freedoms after the infant arrives. “You have absolutely no control over your mind or body now,” says the midwife (Jo Hartley), providing Ruth with prenatal care. “Baby will tell you what to do,” she adds in a tone that is meant to be reassuring. Ruth also has to face something else that every expectant mother deals with: the uncertainty of who her child will be.

“Prevenge” opens March 24 in Los Angeles and New York, as well as on Shudder.