Lovely Molly
Starring: Gretchen Lodge, Alexandra Holden, Johnny Lewis
Director: Eduardo Sanchez
Rating: 3/5
Eduardo Sanchez has moved away from the found footage horror genre as he brings us rather creepy haunted house movie in the form of Lovely Molly.
Sanchez redefined the horror genre back in the nineties with the huge success of The Blair Witch Project and while there are some self-filming elements in this movie there is a completely different feel to it.
When newlywed Molly Reynolds returns to her long-abandoned family home, reminders of a nightmarish childhood begin seeping into her new life.
A malevolent force, whether her own haunted past or some supernatural 'thing,' tirelessly seeks to overwhelm her.
Alone and isolated in a centuries-old manor, she soon begins an inexorable descent into depravity.
Somewhere in the house, in the terrible space between psychosis and possession, lies an evil that will pull Molly and all those around her into darkness and death.
Sanchez is a dab hand at this genre now and he does create tension filled atmosphere throughout as Molly's life and mind begin to unravel.
He uses dark and shadow to create suspense and fear and the house in which the movie itself becomes a character in it's own right which just adds to the tension.
The movie is carried by a great central performance from newcomer Gretchen Lodge who plays the very trouble Molly.
The actress has a real presence about her and she carries this film with confidence and ease, she is an actress that we all should keep an eye out for.
This is a study of a woman is great torment and it's great that Sanchez creates several possibilities as to what may be causing her pain; drug use, psychosis or possession.
The main issue with the film is you are left with very few answers and the what's, the when's and the why's really are left completely open - now I am all for a movie that is happy to pose a few questions but to not answer much of anything makes you question just how well thought out this script was.
The film is a little messy and a time a little incoherent but Sanchez's ability to create tension and Lodge's central performance really does save it.
Lovely Molly is a disturbing, tension filled and, at time, violent movie that does work well on the whole.
Lovely Molly is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw