The Girl Who Wore Yellow Lace

Being a Polonia movie I had almost as much fun looking at all the little bits on the edges of the movie like the sign in the bathroom of the AirBnB they rented for the luxury lakeside home of Arianna that passive aggressively tells you not to flush anything but toilet paper down the toilet they have already had to pump out the septic tank at a cost of 900 dollars or the business title on the door of the Massimo Modeling Agency that clearly doesn't say Massimo Modeling Agency but something Financial Services, the top word is blocked by the wall and I spent a good five minutes advancing it one step at a time trying to read it. It has some of the fun weird low budget energy you come to expect from a Polonia movie but it isn't as weird as Camp Blood Clown Shark or Motorboat. It is tries to recreate the feel of a giallo on a shoestring budget and does a good job but has too small of a cast even for its 82 minute runtime or enough red herrings to avoid you figuring the movie out well before it ends. If you are a Polonia fan it is cool to see him trying different ideas that don't involve a shark but I almost would have liked it more if the killer reveal was revealing it was a shark all along.

This film is something that kept me entertained the entire way through! I'm not sure why people are being such tough critics seeing as it's a lower budget film, what honestly did you expect? It's pretty damn good for what the budget was. I have seen some of Mark's films and this is probably the best I've seen of his. I came across this movie without knowing much about it, but I have to say I was really impressed by the lead actress, Alyssa Paige (credited as Arianna). For a first time lead with no formal acting background, she delivered a grounded and believable performance that carried the film.

Even in moments where the writing or pacing stumbled, she held her own and brought nuance to her character. There's something very natural and unforced about her presence on screen, it feels authentic rather than overly polished, which honestly worked in the movie's favor.

She's definitely someone to keep an eye on. With the right roles and direction, I could easily see her growing into a strong name.