"Prevenge": Baby Knows Best

Posted by Anonymous February 23, 2022

"Prevenge": Baby Knows Best

Prevenge

Alice Lowe’s Prevenge (2016) is a film that challenges the preconceived notions of the traditional horror genre. We follow Alice Lowe’s character, Ruth, throughout her unique pregnancy. The story starts out with Ruth having flashbacks of her partner's tragic death as she burns her clothing over an open fire. Ruth had just killed an exotic pet shop owner and was in the midst of covering her tracks. Without much backstory, we watch as she travels by train to a new city. While in the hotel, we hear the ominous voice of her unborn baby.

Born to Kill

Ruth goes in for frequent checkups throughout the film with her midwife played by Jo Hartley. The midwife assures her that, “baby will tell you what to do”, foreshadowing the omnipresent voice of the baby throughout the film. Unsure of Ruth’s intentions, we see her become interested in attending a 70s disco party where she assertively flirts with the crude dj, played by Tom Davis. Back at his place, he makes his move on Ruth. This is when she slips out a knife and cuts off his genitals and kills him. Lying in the bath, Ruth admits that she thinks she is changing into something else because of her baby. During this scene the baby tells Ruth to, “remember what they did”, inferring that a group of people played a hand in the death of her partener. Ruth and her unborn companion are not only subject to killing men because their next target is a woman, Ella played by Kate Dickie. After some passive aggressive banter, Ruth kisses Len and slits her throat. This kill puts Ruth on a sort of high where the baby quickly tells her to not become cocky. The next day we meet Kayvan Novak’s character, Tom, a climbing instructor. Ruth seeks lessons from him but is met with an uncomfortable conversation and him turning her away because she is pregnant. We then see a long angle shot of Ruth in physical pain while arguing with the baby.

The midwife asks Ruth questions about her health and raises a few concerns with her sleep. She says that she would need to contact social services if there is something out of the ordinary. Panicked, Ruth says social services cannot steal her baby. The midwife calms Ruth and tells her, “you need to decide what is right and what’s wrong” which is proven to be a large difficulty in Ruth’s life. During these appointments Ruth is posed many questions that bring about reflections on her actions. After each conversation with her midwife, Ruth makes a choice in her life. Following this visit, Ruth makes the choice to kill again.

Ruth visits another climber, Zac played by Tom Meeten, at his flat. She is greeted by his flatmate, Josh. Josh shows her kindness, however the baby views him as fake and foolish. Zac arrives home only to be instantly killed. Josh becomes a witness to the murder and is killed immediately after. Back in her hotel room, Ruth reflects on killing Josh and is at a moral crossroad. But of course, the baby convinces her she was right to do so. Flipping through her baby book/ hit list, Ruth and the baby land on their next victim, Len, who is played by actress Gemma Whelan. This is when Ruth runs into trouble. Len puts up a fight and even calls the police, yet Ruth still prevails and even escapes through a dog door out the back.

We watch Ruth continue to reflect and grieve the loss of Matt played by Marc Bessant. There are glimpses of hope as Ruth tries to move on a different path. Unfortunately, the loss becomes overwhelming and Ruth tells her baby, “I succumb to your will. Baby knows best.” Ruth gets ready for her final kill before her child is born. The climbing instructor, guilty of cutting the rope that held Matt, is her final victim. She gets ready for a Halloween party where she sees Tom and his pregnant partner. We see a wave of hesitance rush over Ruth, however the voice is too strong and her situation overthrows her reason. She confronts Tom and is ready to kill, but her water breaks and a C-section is performed. Ruth sees that her daughter is just a simple and normal baby which makes her wonder if the voice was hers all along. Ruth leaves the baby. She goes to the cliff where Matt died and pays her respects. However, it is implied that she attacks Tom at the end, ultimately proving that the baby was never to blame as the evil voice.

The Horrors of Motherhood

Alice Lowe creates an interesting story of a soon to be mother. Typically mothers and babies are associated with gentile, unconditional love. In this film, Lowe plays with the idea of a futile relationship between mother, daughter, and the world around them. Death follows Ruth and her daughter throughout the pregnancy. Subsequently, as an audience we struggle to find the true villain in the story. Throughout the story we see moments of Ruth’s humanity when she kisses her victims, has regret for Josh, and reminisces on her past love. When Ruth kisses her victims it shows an almost motherly tendency. Pairing together the motherly nature of a kiss and the horristic act of murder has a peculiar effect on the film’s mood. It leaves the audience questioning which side of Ruth will overpower the other in the end. In Ruth’s moments of regret and uncertainty, the “baby” is always there to steer her back in the direction of rage, turning her into a monster. Ruth’s baby symbolizes the angry mastermind behind the lust for revenge. As we find out in the end, the baby was pure and innocent. The killings were a direct result of Ruth’s inner conflict. When faced with the challenge of caring for her baby, Ruth leaves the hospital and her baby behind. Just as she abandons the baby, she abandons goodness.

Blending the Slasher and Psychological Thriller Genres

Lowe beautifully marries the themes of slasher horror and psychological thriller. Ruth’s killings of her victims were personal and violent. Ruth keeps track of who her victims are in her book and seeks them out. She used a knife for almost all of the murders, allowing her to get close enough to her victim to attack. Due to her appearance, Ruth is seen as non threatening which allows her to get close to them. Blood pours from the body’s of her victims after slashing, stabbing, or cutting them. This aspect of the film intensifies the horror and captures the rage Ruth feels. We also watch as Ruth struggles with her internal thoughts (in the representation of her baby's voice) throughout the film. This psychological narrative that Lowe creates between Ruth’s conscience and the voice of the baby generates the sense of mystery in the plot. There is room for interpretation when imaging the character dynamic of mother and child. Society is used to the nurturing touch of a mother and the sweet innocence of a child, however Lowe introduces the ideas of resentment, fear, and blame between mother and child. This then carries over to the personnel psychological conflict Ruth faces when we then realize her baby is not of evil nature. In fact, Ruth is the one who is to blame for her starving hunger for revenge. This is the great surprise that the audience is shocked with after wondering who is the villain.

Who is Ruth?

Ruth’s character is complex and we do not truly know her so it is up to the audience to gather opinions of her. At times we see her empathy, wit, and intelligence. However, we watch as her qualities of violence, resentment, and instability overpower her. This was something that worked very well in this film because it allowed us to look into her life and feel close to her, but also question who she is. Since we followed her character around, we were able to connect to her more. Ruth was portrayed at times to be an average mother who has dealt with feelings of love and loss. Occasionally, we rooted for her and saw hope and at other times we saw brokenness and anger. For example, we believe that Ruth and Matt had a true love, but then find out through Tom that they were having problems and Matt was going to leave her. It makes us question the woman before us. It demonstrates how Ruth is a mysterious person, capable of anything which makes her character such a strong component to the tone of Prevenge.

List of Women Who Worked on Prevenge

Alice Lowe (Links to an external site.)- Ruth/ Director

Jo Hartley (Links to an external site.)- Midwife

Leila Hoffman (Links to an external site.)- Dan’s mum

Kate Dickie (Links to an external site.)- Ella

Gemma Whelan (Links to an external site.)- Len

Della Moon Synnott (Links to an external site.)- Baby

Grace Calder (Links to an external site.)- Yoga Instructor

Eileen Davies (Links to an external site.)- Jill

Elen Rattenbury (Links to an external site.)- Girl in Park

Jacqueline Wright (Links to an external site.)- Gin Drinker

Sara Dee (Links to an external site.)- Catwoman