Dakota (Paige Gilmore) is desperate to break up with her boyfriend, Axel (Shane Quigley-Murphy). Through a series of flashbacks, we see how she was once an edgy, individualistic wild child who played in a rock band, Final Girls. Over the few years they’ve been together, Axel has moulded Dakota into what he wants as the perfect girlfriend and her resentment has grown too much. However, on the day she has vowed to break it to him, he returns home with a strange ailment that has him throwing up and growing progressive markings on his skin, making his touch acidic. Despite the ailment, Axel won’t let her go without a fight.
A spot-on reflection and allegory of toxic relationships, directors Alix Austin and Keir Siewert’s debut feature is both powerful and disturbing. The leads – relative newcomers – are superb, with Quigley-Murphy being particularly effective as the possessive Axel. Coming across as cool and pleasant in their earlier meetings, his manipulative nature will undoubtedly ring alarm bells to many and would likely be very triggering. Shot in one apartment, we feel as trapped as Dakota, particularly when things become fraught between the pair. Kill Your Lover is a well-made, claustrophobic horror film if you can stomach everything – and things get particularly horrific towards the final act.
KILL YOUR LOVER is available to watch in the US.
