Marvelous Mandy

Watching horror films isn't my thing, but I enjoy thrillers, and Marvelous Mandy was definitely that and much more. Watching Mandy's (Paula Solinger) life spiral downward as she tries to put together a perfect life was intriguing. The actress portraying her did a superb job. The rest of the cast was great, and quite believable. Hapless Harvey Fowler (Jonathan Stottmann) is hopeless, but he loves his daughter, Clementine (Kenna Hardin) and just wants to make her happy. I would keep an eye on Miss Hardin. She will go a long way in this business. The only issue was the sound. There were some technical difficulties, but easily overlooked due to the exceptional story line. If you haven't seen it yet, it is definitely worth your time. I am looking forward to seeing more movies from this director.

I was pleasantly surprised after viewing this movie. The acting of the principles was superb; the story was very interesting and real-to-life and given the budget, it was amazing it even got made. Paula Mercenaro Solinger was appropriately wacky but also showed her subtle side. Johnathan Stottmann was perfect for the role and apparently is fairly new to acting. He is a real find. Most of the day players did a decent job, which has to be credited partly to the Director for getting the performances out of in-experienced actors. There were the usual problems of a no-budget movie; sound problems, framing problems, but for a first time effort at a feature length movie, it was quite outstanding. Looking forward to future projects by this director.

I always like checking out new independent horror films. A lot of them can be somewhat of a letdown, but every now and then you can happen across one that is a true gem! Such is the case with Director Chase Dudley's latest film, MARVELOUS MANDY!

So I need to start out by saying this isn't a true horror film, but more of a suspense/thriller. Although there are a few bloody/gory scenes that rival anything you've seen in a horror film lately!

The movie is more of a dark "Fatal Attraction" type film, with the character of Harvey falling for what he thinks is an amazing woman, only to find out she is not the woman of his dreams as he first thought, but more like the woman of this nightmares!

I have to admit, when I started the film and saw the running time of 145 minutes, I told myself one thing I will have to write in my review is how long it was and that it should have been edited down a bit and made a more typical 90 -100 minute film. After watching the film in it's entirety, I have to admit I was wrong. The film did not seem that long at all to me while watching it, and it kept me thoroughly entertained the entire running time. Now there were some slower parts, but they were important to building the character of Mandy so you really get to know who she is...or isn't.

I mentioned the blood/gore above, so I know you horror fans are wondering about that, I don't want to give too much away, but there were a couple of scenes were the blood really flowed and looked extremely realistic.

MARVELOUS MANDY is a very smart, well-made thriller that I highly recommend. It is low budget, so keep that in mind when watching. My only complaint was the video quality of the film, as a better camera would have made for a crisper screen image, but the movie itself is very well done with a great story, great characters, and a great plot twist. The acting overall is very good, but the character of Mandy (played by Paula Marcenaro Solinger) was especially well done I thought. She could go from a fun, sweet, charming woman to a complete psychopath in a matter of minutes. She showed quite the acting range in this film.

I would highly recommend this film to any horror/thriller/suspense fans.

I really enjoyed this movie as was unexpected how creepy and disturbing this little lady was. The graphics and blood scenes were very realistic as well and I caught my head turning on these points. Certainly the strong points of the movie as I'm not one for blood, guts and gore, but they did a fantastic job at creating this realistically, wow. I was really horrified at the end, not wanting to write a spoiler, I was screaming "Oh no, no, no poor baby no". I found myself wanting more at the end as to me it was left to the imagination what would happen next. A sequel would be a great idea. I feel a couple of the actors could use some polishing, but like with any craft, with new and up and coming artists, it is great to see them evolve. Can't wait for more from Cut 2 the Chase.

Marvelous Mandy has flaws to be sure, but even some of Hollywood's biggest films aren't perfect. Director, Producer and Co-Star Chase Dudley clearing gets his point across in this motion picture and makes for an unsettling and chilling mood in the storyline. With gory kill scenes and stand out acting by Paula Marcenaro Solinger, Kenna Hardin and Spencer Korcz, Marvelous Mandy is a treat for any independent film goer. Definitely steps ahead of previous films, although Payton's Burden had some strong points to it including some acting and dialogue. Promising career ahead for Chase Dudley who has a great eye for how he wants his shots done, and that shows the true mark of real cinema fan.