Penny Lane is Dead

There’s more to their friendship than Penny and Toni are letting on but for the time being its nobody else’s business. Kat arrives offering gifts in the shape of cup-cakes that she has specifically labelled for each person. It’s a cynical olive branch that’s soon broken as Kat’s reputation stirring up trouble between the friends unfolds. And the reason for the named cakes becomes clear when Penny collapses after eating her spiked one.

To add to the problems Kat calls her psychopathic boyfriend Angus (Ben O’Toole) who arrives with his cronies. Here too there are tensions as they are on a job with a strict deadline. This however is put aside when, thanks to Kat, Angus finds Penny unconscious and vulnerable. What follows triggers sequences of violence and bloodshed.

While not unrelentingly bleak, for the most part Penny Lane is Dead is a nasty piece of work from writer and director Mia’Kate Russell. The violence is very unpleasant, the treatment of women at times horrendous (The woman v woman confrontations can’t dispel the images of some scenes.) and the general air of the film especially in the later stages is oppressively downbeat.

However, what makes this film a possible return watch are the characters that Russell has written. There’s no great study or development, but the hub of the film is the despicableness of Kat and Angus.

O’Toole and Wright-Mendelsohn are outstanding in their roles, as grotesques vying to either complement or outdo each other. There’s a vague hint of black comedy but that is overpowered by their cruelty. That’s not to downgrade the rest of the cast who are very good holding their own against such monsters.

As mentioned earlier there’s no lacking blood and violence. The practical effects are excellent as the cast are put through the wringer of vicious beatings, hamstrings and shootings. The soundtrack of Australian rock and punk is also one to savour.

Penny Lane is Dead will be on Shudder from 28 August 2026.