Penny Lane Is Dead Review: The Ozploitation Slasher That Made Fantasia Faint

Penny Lane Is Dead review: the 1986 Ozploitation slasher that dropped a Fantasia audience member on the floor, plus the world premiere of Someone's Daughter.   PENNY LANE IS DEAD The feature debut from Australian writer-director Mia'Kate Russell, and a straight throwback to 1980s Ozploitation. It is 1986, three friends are celebrating at an isolated beach house, and Penny's jealous cousin Kat turns up with a container of spiked cupcakes. What starts as a prank collapses into a home invasion and then into a revenge film. Meaghan covers the content warnings up front, the tonal wobble between dark comedy and genuine brutality, the practical effects (excellent), the final girl payoff, and the audience member who fainted during the Fantasia screening. Streaming on Shudder August 28. Meaghan gives it 7 digs. Cast: Bailey Spalding, Tahlee Fereday, Alexandra Jensen, Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, Ben O'Toole, Steve Le Marquand, Fletcher Humphrys.SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER The world premiere of Wiebke von Carolsfeld's survival thriller, shot in Quebec's Eastern Townships. A criminal defense lawyer and the client she once got acquitted of an assault charge wind up stranded together in the wilderness, and the longer they walk, the less certain she is that she was right. Pascale Bussieres and Francois Arnaud carry nearly the whole film. Slow burn, very quiet, gorgeous, and not as twisty as the thriller label suggests. Meaghan gives it 7.5 digs. PENNY LANE IS DEAD: MIA'KATE RUSSELL'S OZPLOITATION SLASHER DEBUT - Feature debut from Australian writer-director Mia'Kate Russell, who previously screened shorts at Fantasia. Premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2025. - Set in 1986. Three friends celebrating at an isolated beach house, one jealous cousin, one container of spiked cupcakes, and a prank that turns into a body count. - Prank-gone-wrong film, home invasion film and revenge film stacked on top of each other. - North American premiere at Fantasia on July 20. Streaming on Shudder August 28.   CONTENT WARNINGS AND THE TONAL BALANCE PROBLEM - Meaghan flags the assault sequence up front. It happens off-camera but is heard, and the film sits in rape-revenge territory. Go in knowing. - The film plays as horror dark comedy, but the brutality keeps overriding the jokes. Some laughs did not land in the room. - Reviews are split, and Meaghan gets why. Australian horror runs mean, and this one leans all the way into it. - Comparison point on-mic: The Loved Ones.    THE CAST, THE GORE AND THE FANTASIA FAINTING - Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn as Kat is the engine of the whole film. Ben O'Toole as Angus is genuinely unhinged. - Bailey Spalding plays Penny, Tahlee Fereday plays Toni, Alexandra Jensen plays Amy. Jensen was also in Talk to Me from Danny and Michael Philippou. - Practical gore and makeup effects are the highlight, and the final girl payoff earns its catharsis. - Yes, someone fainted at the screening. Meaghan was there and is not convinced the film gets the credit.   SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER: A QUIET QUEBEC SURVIVAL THRILLER - World premiere at Fantasia. Directed and co-written by Wiebke von Carolsfeld, whose Marion Bridge won Best First Canadian Feature at TIFF in 2002. - Criminal defense lawyer Sam ends up stranded with Paul, the client she once got acquitted of an assault charge. The longer they walk, the less sure she is. - Pascale Bussieres and Francois Arnaud carry nearly every frame. Peter Outerbridge turns up early. - Shot in the Eastern Townships, and the landscape works as a third character. Meaghan gives it 7.5.   SHORT FILM SPOTLIGHT - Best Friends with the Devil, from writer-director Hugo de Sousa, played before Penny Lane Is Dead. Nine minutes, a missing friend, a hiking trail, and a comedy of errors that keeps escalating. - Someone's Daughter screened without a short. Follow us &amp; Subscribe:SpotifyApple PodcastTikTokInstagramThreadsGrave Tone Horror Podcast Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="