‘Penny Lane Is Dead’ Gives a Controversial Horror Subgenre a Fresh Spin [Fantasia Review]

Few films at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival will generate as much controversy or conversation as Mia’Kate Russell’s Penny Lane Is Dead.

At the premiere, an audience member fainted not too far from where I was seated, and while I can’t say for certain it was because of the film itself or if it was an unfortunate coincidence (the incident occurred shortly after a particularly gory scene), Russell’s feature directorial and screenwriting debut—a rape-revenge thriller in the form of a punchy Ozploitation throwback—clearly isn’t interested in making viewers comfortable. In fact, an attendee I had met earlier that week stopped to warn me about what I was about to see, giving me a fist bump of encouragement as I headed into the theater. 

Now, before I continue, I should acknowledge that the rape-revenge subgenre is complicated and often incredibly difficult to watch. Gaining prominence in the 1970s with films like The Last House on the Left, Straw Dogs, and I Spit on Your Grave, the subgenre has attracted praise and controversy from critics and audiences alike. I’ve never personally been drawn to these films, but I was curious to see what Russell would do with Penny Lane Is Dead, especially since we’ve seen female filmmakers like Coralie Fargeat and Jennifer Kent approach the subgenre in radically different ways over the last few years. Russell’s take is not only as brutal as promised, but also darkly funny, fresh, and cathartic, with some brilliant performances and a sapphic love story at its center.

Bailey Spalding plays Penny Lane, a popular but down-to-earth teenager who has just been accepted into law school. She and her childhood friend Amy (Alexandra Jensen, who you might remember from Talk to Me) and newly minted girlfriend Toni (Tahlee Fereday) head to her family’s remote beach house to celebrate. Unbeknownst to the girls, Penny has extended an invitation to her estranged cousin Kat (), who arrives with a Tupperware container of personalized cupcakes: “dog” for Toni, “fat” for Amy, “slut” for Penny, and “Kat” for, well, Kat. When they realize Penny’s cupcake has been laced with sleeping pills, Toni throws Kat out, reminding her nobody in the family likes her and they never will. Furious, Kat calls her sadistic, much older boyfriend Angus () and begs him to pick her up, reminding him that he “owes” her. But Angus isn’t alone, and he and his friends have plans of their own.