Loaded MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 1/2 Content: -3 1/2

The debut of writer-director Anna Campion, LOADED is a sour and pointless drama. It brings together seven young adults making a shoddily amateurish horror movie in a dilapidated English country mansion. Brash director Lance (Danny Cunningham) believes his masterpiece is a ticket to Hollywood. Screenwriter Giles (Nick Patrick) is a self-centered intellectual with a fascination for mass murderers. The performers include two beauties - sensual Charlotte (Biddy Hodson) and innocent Rose (Catherine McCormack) - along with spiritually sensitive Lionel (Mathew Eggleton) and emotionally troubled Neil (Oliver Milburn). Their comically awful production is chiefly a backdrop for the interaction between the characters. The early scenes never stray far from the typical flirtations and petty jealousies. Then LOADED takes a dark turn when Lance convinces everyone to take LSD as a means of individual consciousness exploration. A tragedy ensues, although it doesn't bring about any profound revelations as the film meanders to its conclusion.

In addition to this careless but consequential drug use, LOADED depicts characters engaged in casual sex. One graphic bedroom scene has a side view of a topless woman having sex. The prolonged scene continues even after the couple is aware they are being watched. In yet another explicit scene, a man removes a woman's robe and fondles her. Soon after one of the characters dies, an inappropriate sex scene occurs that has a nearly violent quality. Foul mouths utter foul language that includes a steady stream of obscenities and profanities. Needless to say, this film doesn't portray young adults very favorably. Even the consequences of their actions don't bring about any noteworthy moral alterations.

Preview Reviewer: Mark Perry
Distributor: Miramax Films, 18 E. 48th St., NY, NY 10017