Sean Byrne directs Robin McLeavy, Xavier Samuel and John Brumpton in this teen horror gorno about an Aussie high schooler who turns down the wrong girl’s invitation to prom. 

As with all torture porn a lot of this is often just a cypher tied to a chair enduring hellish pain and disfiguration. Yet it is done with a creepy elan that evokes the black comedy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and reaches a set piece finale not a million miles from the high points of The People Under the Stairs. Byrne is smart enough to add a few breakaway subplots where the unwitting locals work through the grief of having an undetected psycho living among them. Throwaway asides but welcome breaks from the full-on nasty of the central action. But let’s get down to it. What makes this superior to most exploitative one watchers is a powerhouse turn from Robin McLeavy. Her Lola is part Mean Girl, part Gail the Snail, part Asami from Audition, part Lenny from Of Mice And Men. A terrifying creation played with upmost commitment from the unknown actress. Switching here between satire and scares with dexterity, she should be a household name by now. A truly great genre turn.

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