Set on a hot summer’s night in 1986 Australia, Penny Lane is celebrating getting into college with her long-time girlfriends Toni and Amy. The night, however, does not turn out as planned. After Penny’s jealous and troubled cousin, Kat, decides a cruel prank is in order, what begins as a thoughtless spiked cupcake game spirals into a night of bloodshed.
My Brilliant Career
Ozploitation film Penny Lane is Dead follows in the bloody footsteps of Australia’s past exploitation features. It is a terrifying trek back to the wild nature of the 80s and is reminiscent of past Aussie titles like Wolf Creek (2005), Cargo (2017), Bloody Hell (2020), and The Loved Ones (2009), to name but a few. Australia really does horror well, and that fact is sadly slept on.
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Penny Lane is Dead is sexy, naughty, gory, and shockingly realistic in all the ways a good exploitation film should to be. One could even say it is something of a masterclass of the genre. The writing is great, and the performances are perfect all around. It walks that fine line between “I can’t watch!” and “I can’t look away.” And I feel like that is the sweet spot when it comes to productions like this.
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While mostly shot on a single location with what must have been a relatively modest budget, the film makes great use of practical effects for the gore, and the kills are absolutely brutal. Very little left to the imagination, if you know what I mean. Aside from its visceral nature, it has very human themes, with very modern undertones around themes of jealousy, sexuality, the desire to be wanted, and the concepts of nature vs nurture. And – I suppose – the idea that some people are just born bad.
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I want to punctuate my thoughts with a warning. People find joy in different sub-genres of horror, and no two horror fans like exactly the same thing. I enjoy cosmic horrors and creature features and mostly dislike people hurting other people just because they can. Penny Lane is Dead definitely falls into the exploitation/gore porn category, where the film is violent for the sake of violence. Some consider this the truest form of horror, while others find it senseless and unnecessary. I’m sure there’s also the handful that crank one out to it, but we avoid them.
Penny Lane is Dead
If you like films that feature good vs evil, torture, gore, and senseless violence, then this is an absolute must-see. If your catharsis is watching a bunch of Aussies stab, shoot, pierce, grate, stake, hack, and mutilate each other over the course of 90 minutes, then do I have a treat for you. If you prefer the more spooky, the haunted, the hatched, the supernatural and the alien, then this is not going to tickle your fancy. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay sordid. The poster and links are below. Penny Lane is Dead comes to Shudder this Friday.
