Press Release from Madman Entertainment
The Loved Ones, a horror film set in an Australian high school has taken out the coveted Midnight Madness Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend.
The film, which will be distributed locally by Madman Entertainment, made its international debut at the festival as part of the popular Midnight Madness series, which draws legions of devoted fans to manic midnight screenings over the course of the event.
The Loved Ones is the first feature by Tasmanian born writer and director Sean Byrne, who was overwhelmed when he received the news of the award.
“The Midnight Madness audience is the most educated, passionate and hardcore horror audience I’ve ever encountered which makes receiving this award such an especially great honor” said Byrnes.
The film follows the unassuming Lola, a teenage girl who asks her secret love Brent to accompany her to the school formal. After being rejected by her would be suitor, Lola and her father plan their demented and sadistic revenge on the young teen and anyone that gets in their way.
Already winning over film critics, The Loved Ones has been described as a “deftly controlled mix of empathy, grotesquerie and sardonic humor” Dennis Harvey, Variety Magazine.
The Loved Ones was produced by Mark Lazarus and Michael Boughen, and features an Australian cast including Xavier Samuel (Twilight Saga: Eclipse), Jessica McNamee (Packed to the Rafters) and Richard Wilson (The Proposition).
The film had its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2009 and will be released nationally by Madman Entertainment early 2010.