The Loved Ones (2009) Trivia
Under the instructions of director Sean Byrne, Robin McLeavy prepared for the role of Lola by researching the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, as well as watching Misery (1990), Natural Born Killers (1994) and the works of Quentin Tarantino.
The movie was filmed in only 4 weeks.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Carrie (1976), Misery (1990), and Audition (1999) all served as inspiration for the film. Lola's pink dress in particular is an homage to Carrie's pink prom dress.
Despite playing teenagers, Xavier Samuel was twenty-five, Jessica MacNamee was twenty-three and Robin McLeavy was twenty-eight at the time of filming.
Lola Stone is an anagram for lost + alone. When this was mentioned to Sean in a premiere Q&A screening, he was as wowed and amazed as the audience were - he had no idea.
In an interview with writer-director Sean Byrne, film critic Chase Whale called antagonist Lola 'Princess' "one of the greatest villains in horror history."
Lola injecting Brent's vocal cords with bleach is similar to real life serial killer and torturer Robert Berdella who would do the same thing to a number of his victims for the same reason.
John Jarratt turned down the role of Daddy to avoid typecasting.
Brent has several posters for songs on his bedroom wall that say something about his character. One poster is for the Metallica song Master of Puppets, suggesting that Brent feels like he's dominated by the guilt of getting his father killed. The next poster is for Metallica's Kill 'em All, which include lyrics referring to a hand, hammer, and a lot of blood, which foreshadows the torture he's going to endure. The third poster is for Radiohead's Amnesiac, suggesting that Brent has not been sleeping very well after the tragic accident, explaining why he has dark circles under his eyes. Amnesia is not insomnia, and the other two are tenuous at best.
Some scenes were filmed in Box Hill Senior Secondary College, in Melbourne
Richard Wilson's character, Jamie, was originally named Sac.
Robin McLeavy, Richard Wilson and Victoria Thaine had previously starred in 48 Shades (2006); McLeavy portrayed Wilson's character's aunt.
Lola asks Brent if the fried chicken is "finger lickin' good?" as she's trying to force feed him a chicken leg. This is the slogan for the fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC for short. Despite that, the chicken they're actually eating in the dinner scene is off-brand chicken, and not actual KFC.
A black spider toy is seen on Brent's desk at one point. A black spider can be a representation of loneliness and isolation, fitting as Brent seems to have isolated himself from others due to his depression.
