Classic genre cinema has taught us that a sweltering Australian summer night is the ultimate backdrop for absolute carnage. And writer-director Mia-Kate Russell leans hard into that bloody tradition with Penny Lane Is Dead. Set in 1986, the film follows the titular Penny Lane. She gathers with her best friends, Toni and Amy, to celebrate her college acceptance. What starts as a standard evening of teenage rebellion hits a violent wall when Penny’s deeply troubled cousin, Kat, decides to stage a cruel prank. A spiked cupcake and a night of partying spiral rapidly out of control, triggering a chaotic, blood-soaked night of betrayal, rage, and raw survival.
The characters are brought to life by a commitment to retro atmosphere and an ensemble cast led by Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Tahlee Fereday, Alexandra Jensen, Bailey Spalding, Ben O’Toole, Steve Le Marquand, and Fletcher Humphrys.
The Fine Line Between Dark Horror and Mean-Spirited Cruelty
While the cast turns in solid performances across the board, the film leaves a deeply bitter aftertaste. Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn fully commits to playing Kat, though the character’s loudmouthed, relentless immaturity and cruelty quickly cross the line into being downright obnoxious and barely tolerable every second she graces the screen. The movie’s only saving grace was turning Tahlee Fereday’s character Toni into a badass. But that’s not enough to save it.
More concerning, however, is the film’s overarching tone. Penny Lane Is Dead feels like a prime example of how desensitized modern horror has become, too extreme when it comes to violence against women. Beneath its themes of jealousy, love, and fractured loyalty lies a story that ultimately weaponizes rape for shock value, for twisted entertainment. Even with the director making the conscious, appreciated choice not to depict the sexual assault on camera explicitly, its presence hangs heavily over the narrative. The movie crosses from unsettling horror into uncomfortable, mean-spirited territory.
Facts
On average, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), one in five women is sexually assaulted. That’s 24% of the US’ population. The foundation also states that 81% of women will experience a form of sexual assault or harassment in their lives. Think about that. Odds are it’s been your mom, your sister, or your loved one. So, thinking we need another movie that glorifies it is out of touch. Clearly, this movie was more about catering to the male gaze than about empowering victims. And the ending? It feels out of place and ridiculous. Women who have been assaulted and fought to survive all night and are badly wounded and surrounded by death rarely ride off into the sunset smiling like a bunch of jackasses chewing briars. I find it super unrealistic. But that’s the least of its problems.
So Over It
Any attempt to turn women into tough final girls falls flat, overshadowed by tired, overused tropes. Tropes that have long since worn out their welcome. Yeah, so more rape and violence against women is just what we need in a movie (insert eye roll). Yes, the movie is about survival, but its meanness, obnoxiousness, and shallow characters (the cousin and all the male characters) overshadow it. Come for me if you want, but I am so over it. And all of this is just made worse by the fact that it comes from a female director. It exploits trauma, trivializes assault, and normalizes violence.
Honestly, it feels like too many filmmakers are trying to take the Terrifier path these days, violence just for violence and using controversy to promote their movies. In this case, it’s cheap and disrespectful to victims, hell, to all women and to horror fans in general.
Not all Recycling is Good
Can we please come up with something more original? How many times have we seen the same story recycled over and over? Too many times. Give us something fresh, something we haven’t seen a million times.
Don’t get me wrong, there are movies out there that approach violence against women in a way that gives women their power back, or at least gives them their vengeance. I recommend 2018’s The Nightingale, The Reckoning, which made it onto our Top 10 of 2021 list, and of course there’s Kill Bill. They may be brutal, but they address this topic seriously rather than turning it into a tasteless entertainment event or making light of it. There’s a big difference. That’s where this movie fails.
The Final Verdict
Ultimately, Penny Lane Is Dead is a resounding meh, at best. While the retro aesthetic and intense performances might pull in hardcore fans, the film’s reliance on the torture and sexual violation of its female characters makes it a tough, deeply unpleasant pill to swallow. Unless you have a high tolerance for sheer cruelty masked as a plot, this movie is probably best skipped. However, if you still feel the need to hit play, Penny Lane is Dead hits Shudder on August 28th.
