Adorável Molly

Obviously the title is not meant literally. You also shouldn't be surprised if you start thinking this is another found footage movie. The movie was made by one of thinking heads behind "Blair Witch Project". But don't worry (or be happy?), this is not one of those movies. It actually is one of the regular horror movies.

The horror itself isn't that bad, though you will know where this is heading. The "twist" is a bit of a downer, almost bringing the whole thing down. On the other hand, some people might think this is funny. But what really was unnecessary was the ending. Just when you thought it should be over ... Cliché right around the corner

Director Eduardo Sánchez begins his newest spooky feature Lovely Molly with a deliberate shout out the the film that brung him here, The Blair Witch Project (co-directed with Daniel Myrick). A crying woman confesses into a videocamera, capturing herself in a moment of distress and hoping to leave a clue to be discovered after she inevitably succumbs to an off-screen terror. Sánchez hasn't returned exactly to his old stomping ground of first-person documentary horror - Lovely Molly is for the most part a spooky old fashioned psyche-out horror film - but it's a nice touch in a film filled with them.

Molly and new husband Tim (Gretchen Lodge and Johnny Lewis) are ripped from sleep in their new inherited home by a squalling alarm. Someone has opened their back door and is thumping around in the kitchen, but police find nothing out of the ordinary and chalk it up to the wind despite Tim's insistence that he locked the door.

He's a truck driver, and is away from home for stretches of time in which Molly is left alone to deal with a growing malignancy, a presence in the house that manifests itself as sung voices, crying children, clomping horse hooves and slamming doors. Molly's afraid to reach out to her sister or husband for help, fearing that they'll assume she's lapsed back into substance abuse. She instead begins to videotape her encounters, and it's this footage, as well as taped footage of someone stalking neighbours and visiting an odd underground shrine of some sort, that forms the frightening backbone of the film.

As Sánchez himself claimed in a post-screening q&a, the film is as much an "indie relationship" film and "actor's piece" as horror film. The entire weight of the film is on newcomer Lodge's back and she pulls the whole thing off dazzlingly well, transforming from a slight, trembling girl into a stalking, haunted and threatening woman crawling through an empty house. It's a performance good enough, combined with Sánchez's legitimate gift for crafting arresting moments of weird, totemic and animalistic horror, to transcend the film's kind of tired "is it a ghost or a hallucination" set-up, and take the whole thing into straight-up spooky, straight-up original territory.

Look the movie is creepy and got me suspended for a long time. It was successful in creating suspense and intensity but in my opinion fails to deliver a message or an ending.

There is a moment towards the end where Molly goes out to hug "someone" I am not gonna say it so I wont spoil it for you but I keep wondering what on earth did they think when they were making this scene! Another part that I will vaguely criticize is the struggle-less death that happened in the movie. It just doesn't make any sense.

Overall, I gave the movie 6 stars because it was exciting and creepy but I was pretty disappointed with the end and how things developed eventually.

I rarely criticise a movie for its technical choices rather than its script or character development. However, this instance stands out, as I find it necessary to commend the storyline for addressing some sensitive (and significant) subject matters but cannot and will not extend the same degree of appreciation to its execution on the broader level.

The mixed style, continuously oscillating between found footage and conventional cinematography was frustrating. A more decisive approach in selecting one particular style would have benefited the script I reckon.

Regarding the narrative, I was captivated by how it gradually builds tension while delving into darker themes. The darkness is pursued, not rushed into and it embraces it completely as we reach conclusion.

Incorporation of psychological trauma with a suggested entity of malevolence was a genuinely ingenious idea that could have yielded a superior outcome had it not been executed in such a technically as well as tonally convoluted way.

Before I finish I must specifically mention the performance of Gretchen Lodge in the lead role. She delivered an outstanding portrayal of a woman showing scars of past trauma and slowly descending into madness, which was quite impressive for a film of this scope and ambition.

OK, so I know the reviews for this one have been pretty mixed, but for fans of psychological horror that don't mind an ambiguous story line, I highly recommend Lovely Molly. As a massive horror enthusiast who sees EVERYTHING, I can tell you there are only a few films per year that have the ability to get under my skin, and this is one of them. Although not a particularly sadistic or violent film, Molly's (newcomer Gretchen Lodge) descent into depravity is entirely convincing in a very realistic and unpleasant manor. Her back story is left intentionally vague, which makes the proceedings much more horrific. As horror fans we all know the downfall of over exposition...once we know exactly whats going on it's just not scary anymore. To say much more about the story could hinder one's viewing experience but I will say to make sure you CRANK your surround system or watch with headphones because the sound design is a vital part of the film. Many scenes feature sonic subtleties which could easily be missed, and constant attention to detail (take note of the crackle heard every time Molly drags a cigarette). So anyways, Lovely Molly has my vote for one of the year's best in horror, and I can't wait to see what's next for both Sanchez and Lodge.