Taking the lead role herself , Lowe is Ruth , a heavily pregnant single mother ( Lowe was herself seven months pregnant at time of filming ) who embarks on a series of executions of what at first appears to be a random collection of strangers . Ruth is simply following orders however , those of her unborn daughter , who in a voice that sounds like an even creepier Teletubby , instructs her to commit homicide . Ruth ’ s first two victims - an exotic pet store owner who asks Ruth if she would like to ‘ touch his big snake ’, and a boorish pub DJ who lives with his geriatric mother - suggest she ’ s on some sort of feminist quest to rid Britain of misogynist man-children . The film is most effective in these early sequences , as the unpleasantness of the men she massacres allows us to empathize with her actions , if not condone them . They also represent the film ’ s funniest segments , thanks to the hilariously uncomfortable interactions between Lowe and