Director: Eduardo Sanchez
Starring: Gretchen Lodge, Johnny Lewis, Alexandra Holde, Jane Fleming
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed by: Image Entertainment
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Running Time: 99 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
“Lovely Molly” is a brutal and leaves you completely uncomfortable. But since that is the film’s goal, then it is very successful. This is one of those horror films that you need to watch a view times in order to completely absorb it all. It is directed by Eduardo Sanchez (“The Blair Witch Project”), who delivers the type of horror that he would want to watch. The star of the film though, literally, is Gretchen Lodge. This is her film debut and she really delivers a chilling and terrifying performance. You should expect great things from her. There are not many scares, per se, though the whole film is a unsettling experience that leaves you starring at the screen to see what happens next. Must see for all fans of horror, will not disappoint.
The film follows newlywed, Molly Reynolds (Lodge), who moves back into her childhood home. It has been long-abandoned and has quite the history hidden within its walls. Molly begins to hearing noises and voices of things that are impossible to believe. Starting off similar to “Paranormal Activity”, “Molly” then takes a violent left turn and leads to the unexpected. We find out the dark secrets that lie in Molly’s past as she is haunted by a malevolent force that is set o wreaking havoc and terror on Molly and her family.
Image delivers an impressive Blu-ray presentation. The film is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and 1080p transfer is sharp, even though is shot handheld. Besides Lodge’s performance, the second star of the film is the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The sound effects and score really help to create the fantastic atmosphere that this film delivers. The special features are a little light but cover a lot of the mystery of the film and its story. There are various featurettes, which cover different aspects including “Path To Madness”, “Haunted Past”, “Demonic Forces” and “Is It Real”. If you enjoyed this film these are a great follow-up and highly recommended. I would have liked to see a commentary track included as well but still decent. Lastly there is a theatrical trailer included.