Film Review: Lovely Molly (2011)

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SYNOPSIS:

Newlywed Molly moves into her deceased father’s house in the countryside, where painful memories soon begin to haunt her.

Lovely Gretchen Lodge is “Molly” in this provocative haunting new thriller appropriately titled “Lovely Molly“. After her stunning performance as the haunted, troubled, and sometimes mentally unstable Molly, you wouldn’t guess that this is Gretchen Lodge’s first film role. In fact in that respect she reminds a bit of the break out performances we have come to know from new actors like Elizabeth Olsen.

The story has quite a bit of background. But your gonna have to pick up the bluray to catch “all” the extra details per the included featurettes. Molly our focal character is on her way to a brand new life with her new husband Tim (Johnny Lewis). They have all the makings of a perfect couple as they move into Molly’s deceased parents home (to also save money). Molly’s sister Hannah (Alexandra Holden) holds a close relationship with her and a pretty elaborate past together. It’s not too long after the new couple move in (3 months) that they begin to hear noises in the form of an assumed potential break in. The incident is overlooked after having the local police investigate and its back to business as usual. Tim works as a truck driver, so he is often away on road trips leaving Molly behind. As Molly gets reacquainted with her birth house, she begins to suspect that perhaps her abusive father is still coming around in the form of an unwanted spirit.

Molly also seems to have a fascination with using her video cam corder to record things around the house (and her own reactions). You might be suspecting another one of those “found footage” films but the movie only uses this aspect for segments taking a more mature approach than the wave of shaky cam movies these days. The film moves at a great pace that instantly sets a feeling of tension and unknowing. Molly who has had a past history with drug use and being institutionalized begins to come undone when she is attacked by this mystery spirit (mostly off camera rapings aka “The Entity”). Hannah does her best to comfort her and share in her sister’s ordeals, but also realizes that Molly is headed for the worst. As we get moments of incidents that ask more questions than answer, we begin to also see Molly take on a transformation from her lovely charming self to a more violent possessed version. Molly is in fact, possessed by sin.

The film leaves us clues along the way about the nature of the house and its past, but not too the extent of the extra featurettes. The imagery of the horse and the cam footage of symbolism shown “might” piece together for astute viewers but not for most of us as it tends to go a bit overhead. It won’t ruin the plot to tell you that the horse association has a direct relationship with the 3-headed symbol of the devil or moreso the demons “Amduscias” and “Orobas”. So while there is this mix of insanity, haunting and potential possession, there is also a dark element that exists specifically in this location.

“Lovely Molly” instills a creepy nature which lays a haunting experience slightly different than those we have seen in the past. In that respect I was making connections to films like “Amityville Horror” which also influenced it characters with the aura of its foundation. The film is never “too” violent but violent enough for a adult audiences. With that said we also get several shots of actress Gretchen Lodge performing full nudity within the film but kept within the context of what is transpiring.

“Lovely Molly” gives us clever twists centered on a woman who we spend most of the film trying to figure out. In the fashion of a mystery horror pieces, the movie challenges us to guess what, why, and how while saving its best portions for last. The ending has its special qualities but if you put the pieces together it will make more sense.

Director Eduardo Sánchez first chilled viewers across the globe with his earlier work,”The Blair Witch Project“. He would later go on to direct the compelling “Altered” and “Seventh Moon“. This latest offering is a perfect next movie for this horror maverick who simply knows what audiences want from their films. Extremely impressive, “Lovely” molly” is a hit for 2012

Lovely Molly (2011)