The director says in a bonus feature interview that he was aiming for Carrie and The Evil Dead with this Australian prom night torture-porn entry, and - to a degree - on a much smaller scale he succeeds. Whilst the film is technically sound, and there are good performances on offer (notably Xavier Samuel as the much-suffering victim and a gloriously unhinged turn from Robin McLeavy as the aggrieved Lola/'Princess'), this is a grim film, with even little black comedy, just calculated unpleasantness throughout as it moves from an impressive study of grief in the first twenty minutes to outright (and often unpredictable and excruciating) sadism. At a scant but challenging 75 minutes long, the film seems to wrap up itself at the hour mark, but finds somewhere potentially interesting to go, only to end too quickly and miss potential development to a more satisfying conclusion. Take away the irritating sub-plot and this becomes a possible stage piece; as a film, it creates the tension and an engaging situation that raises it above weaker entries in the sub-genre.
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