Pet Review: A deliciously dark thriller that plays with the viewer for the duration.
Kat Hughes’ Pet review, FrightFest 2016.
Pet Review
Dominic Monaghan is Seth, a mild-mannered man who works at the local dog pound. A perpetual loner, Seth struggles to fit in with his work colleagues and finds solace in the canine companions he cares for instead. Things change after a chance meeting with past high-school crush, Holly (Ksenia Solo). Instantly smitten with the beautiful and alluring young woman, Seth finds himself obsessed, and after his innocent attempts to win Holly’s heart fail, he takes to more drastic methods.
Following her home one night he kidnaps Holly and imprisons her in a cage within the bowels of the dog pound. Whilst initially Seth has the upper hand it soon becomes clear that Holly isn’t as pure as people think.
Pet Review
You’ve read the synopsis and you think you’ve got Pet nailed. It’s obviously a torture porn style tale of a female victim being mercilessly tortured by a sadistic kook. There’ll probably be a rape at some point, that’s just how these films go, but not in Pet. This is a film that is definitely not what you think it is. Devoid of the usual tortuous gore and unnecessary sexual violence, this is a much more sensible story. It flips expectations on its head, constantly morphing from act to act.
Pet continuously places the audience on the back foot. A forever twisting thriller, the viewer is constantly switching from team prisoner to team jailer. Seth’s stalking of Holly is creepy and worryingly easy – you might want to check your social media privacy settings after this one. Clearly an unhinged man, we’re ready to root for our victim, but the film’s narrative zigs when you expect it to zag.
A film made stronger by its central performances, it comes across as a very metaphorical game of chess. Dominc Monaghan holds the film well, drawing the viewer deep into the strange mind of Seth. Monaghan usually plays carefree and charismatic characters. His more famous screen incarnations – Merry (Lord of the Rings), Charlie (Lost) and Geoffrey (Hetty Wainthropp Investigates) are all firm fan favourites and more importantly, happy and hamlets good guys. This makes watching Pet, or at least parts of it, very uncomfortable to watch.
Pet Review
Ksenia Solo is also fantastic and more than holds her own against Monaghan. In many ways she has the harder task. Holly is a chameleon character, you’re never quite certain of her true nature, and that can be difficult to portray. Solo has no such issue and effortlessly flows from cold bitch, to desperate victim, to manipulative minx.
With strong performances from both leads, Pet is a sinister film that embraces the dark desires of the human psychology. A forever bending narrative that surprises where so many others fail. Dark, intelligent and above all refreshingly original, Pet offers an experience that you won’t soon forget.
Pet forms part of this year’s Frightfest programme.
