By Jacob Cameron

Penny Lane is Dead is an original film from Shudder that sets a slasher film in the middle of a hot Australian summer. This is a film that had a sizable amount of potential considering its plot and its setting. However, the potential is left squandered.

Penny Lane is Dead was directed by Mia Kate Russell and starred Bailey Spalding, Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, and Thalee Fereday, among others It tells the story of three friends who gather to have a party at a beach house. One of the girls, named Kat, played by Wright-Mendelsohn, plays a prank on one of the friends named Penny Lane. The prank does not end well; but the prank is just the beginning of the disturbing chain of events planned by Kat.

Thalee Fereday gives the best performance of the film. She’s the one that goes through the most agony of the film; physically and emotionally. In terms of individual moments, she gets the most time to shine. Two scenes in particular, one at a beachside shop and one in a tool shed, are notable for how violent they are. Additionally, and problems with character motivation to one side, Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn has some great moments.

There is also a sense that the film is doing a lot more with its budget than what the budget might actually be. This appears to be a smaller budget film; but there are some genuinely good-looking gore effects. Some of the hits feel like they are teeth-rattling. At the beachside shop, there is a scene involving Fereday and one of the gang that feels as awful as it looks. The final scene occurs in a tool shed, which includes a brutal moment involving a tarp.

What cripples this film lies in the story and some of the choices made regarding character motivations. The prank appears to happen on the thinnest of pretenses. With the reasons seemingly boiling down to jealousy of some kind. Which, considering the bigger picture that the film presents, the question becomes, were these people friends to begin with. Then, when more characters are introduced, with the added element of being more sinister than Kat, there is no clear answer as to who to root for.

In addition to these issues, there are attempts made at comedy that don’t land. There is a group of intruders who try to kill the remaining characters minus Kat. But instead of being intimidating with a dash of humor, they come across as annoying and borderline incompetent. One of the groups, in particular, is borderline insufferable as their leader. Chewing every piece of scenery he could find. There is also a decision made near the end of the film that almost feels genuinely insulting.

In the end, this is a disappointing film that wastes it’s setting and initial premise. Fereday and Wright-Mendelsohn have good moments, but moments are all they are. For every good moment, there are three moments that undermine and destroy any good will.

🌟 🌟 stars