Lonely Hearts starts by showing a few audition tapes. These are from hopeful contestants vying to win a spot on the reality show Lonely Hearts. Donny (Martin W. Payne) is a middle-aged priest looking to make a lasting love connection. Carol (Sue Dawes) has found it hard meeting people after her husband died a few years ago. She figures this as good a way as any and that it might be fun.
Freddy (Chris Mills) is a fit athletic twenty-something, hoping to become famous by winning the show. Kirsty (Tyne Stewart) believes Lonely Hearts will be a good way to hook up with some attractive men. Claire (Alice Mulholland) wants to do something that will push her out of her comfort zone and challenge her.
“…the contestants bond and hangout…it becomes apparent that not everything is right with how the show is progressing.”
The reality show is an odd mixture of a dating program and an outdoor survival competition. Each morning, the host Patricia (Sophie Atkinson) announces that day’s challenges. At night, the contestants bond and hangout around the campfire. However, it becomes apparent that not everything is right with how the show is progressing. That unnerving feeling they have grows more and more as the days wear on.
Around 45-minutes into Lonely Hearts, I had several questions nagging at the back of my brain. To the credit of co-writers and directors Jessica Hunt and Sam Mason-Bell, their British horror film provides answers to everything I was wondering about. Sure, the film might only have 10-minutes left by that point, but it leaves very little unresolved.
"…a brilliant tagline—'Date. Mate. Eviscerate.'"
